Why I Love My Wood Cookstove

Here is my vintage wood cookstove.

On a snowy day, as it is the day I write this post, I work from home and I get the woodstove going. My woodstove is a cookstove. It is an amazing hunk of cast iron that heats my kitchen and family room to upwards of 79 degrees when really cranked up.

When the woodstove is going to be roaring all day, I'll cook a food that takes a long time. This time, I am making a beef stock, then I'll make a beef stew using the stock.

Using a variety of beef bones and a bone-in pot roast ($14.00 for all) I place in roasting pan and sprinkle with salt. Into the woodstove oven it goes to roast for about 30-40 minutes to get the juices flowing and nice browning.  The key to a good stock is to roast the bones before putting them into a pot of water. You can make stock with pork or use left over roast turkey or chicken bones for a great stock (no need to re-roast turkey or chicken already roasted). For more tips to make stock click here.

Remove the meat and bones from the roasing pan and deglaze it using wine.  Cut beef into bite-sise pieces and place into large pot. Add peeled and chopped carrots, a few celery stalks cut in half, and 2-4 bay leaves. Cover with water until coverd by couple of inches of water.

Then it sits on the stove simmering for hours. Once the meat is tender I remove some of the stock to freeze and save for future use.  With the remaining stock and tender beef I'll make a curry stew using a favorite recipe from Epicurious. We love it served over sticky white rice and fresh warm bread.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East. www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com

Board Mounted Valance Ideas

Board mounted valances mean that the fabric treatment is attached to a board. Thus eliminating the need for decorative hardware. This can be a visually simpler and usually lower cost. Design options are limitless.
Tip: Install the valance well above the window glass so that the view and light are not blocked. This will make the window appear taller.

Here are examples of the many possibilities of board mounted valances. All were designed by me and fabricated by my professional workroom.

106" width is possible.

Contrasting fabrics create detail.

Simple box valance.

Box style with two contrasting pleats.

Shaped valance with contrasting welt and center accent.

Trim and two fabrics.

Trim adorns the top and a contrasting fabric in a center pleat offer a simple yet interesting treatment.

Two fabrics, contrasting patterns and shapes enhance details of the room.

Tight area required a simple treatment to allow the pattern to be the focus.

Shape and pattern offer a lot of decoration in a simply detailed space.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East. www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com

Creating a New Color Scheme

Where to start when starting a new room from scratch? Start with fabrics. A color scheme can be as simple as asking yourself what colors you like. Once you do that, you narrow your options. In this example photo, the client likes spice and green. As you can see from these fabrics, the actual tone of the colors can be lighter or darker.

When shopping hone in on the colors and then see what appeals to you. Typically most people will know what they like when they see it. The hardest part is just getting started. If you need inspiration or direction, look to your wardrobe, what you typically wear is what you might show the colors you are attracted to.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East. www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com

Italian Christmas Cookie

Cookies with a simple icing.

A festive and simple cookie that will be enjoyed by everyone. It is fun to make and young children might enjoy helping.

Italian Christmas Cookies

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 cup flour
4 tsp. baking powder

Sift dry ingredients. Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs; add vanilla and dry ingredients.

Knead and add flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to hands. Pinch off dough, roll in your hands to form a log and then twirl into shape. Place on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes.

Icing

2 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
6 tsp. water
Stir until creamy

Dip cookies into icing and sprinkle with trim. Place on wire rack with wax paper on counter to collect the dripping icing and sprinkles.

Place iced cookies on wire rack with wax paper under for easy cleanup.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East. www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com

Old Family Recipe - Nutroll

This is a very old family recipe passed down through my family by my slovak great-grandmother.

Nut Roll Dough

10 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2  pounds butter
5 eggs
4 1/2 tsp. powdered sugar
1 1/2 can evaporated milk
2 rapid rise yeast packets
3 tsp. vanilla
9 tsp. baking powder

Mix butter and flour as for pie.  Add eggs, powdered sugar, yeast,pinch salt vanilla and baking powder.  Mix in the milk, knead it into a large ball. Let stand in refrigerator for a few hours.  Makes about 14 rolls. 

Nut Roll Filling

4 pounds of shelled walnuts

1 cup sugar + more to taste
1 egg white beaten
1 can evaporated milk + more to make filling spreadable
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp.+ almond extract - to taste

Grind nuts fine in food processor or grinder - nuts must be very, very fine. I use the grinder attachment on my Kitchen-Aid mixer. Mix ingredients in bowl.  The above are approximate amounts; you may need to add more milk to a make it spreadable and more sugar to sweeten. 

Create a mixture of powdered sugar and granular sugar; use this to roll the dough on Instead of flour. It makes It sweet and a nice crusty outside finish.

Take a tennis ball size of dough and roll it to 1/8 inch thick.  Spread with nut filling all over the dough (not too much). Roll up, like a jelly roll and tuck ends under.  On a baking sheet create foil boats - 3 per sheet. Once the roll is formed, set nut rolls inside boats and bake.

Place inside the foil boat and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until light brown.

Once cool, wrap each roll in the foil and store in the freezer until to you are ready to slice and serve.

here is the roll sliced.

Griding the nuts.

The walnuts very, very fine.

Start with a tennis ball size dough ball.

Roll till about 1/8" think and spread nut paste.

Roll the roll.

Bake rolls in foil "boats"

How to Choose a Sofa

If you are in need of a new sofa, there is much to consider BEFORE you go shopping. There are so many styles, specifications and details to choose from to make the best choice for a new sofa. First start with the size that fits your space. Before you decide on color and fabric,  ask yourself the following questions:

Do you want a three seat cushions, two-seat cushions or a single seat cushion?

Loose, attached back cushions, or upholstered back (tufts or not tufts)?

Skirt or exposed legs?

High or low arms?

Streamlined or oversized?

Avoid these mistakes:

1.       sofa too big for your space

2.       fabric  and frame not the best durability for your lifestyle

3.       deciding on price over quality

What defines quality?

There is a lot going on under the fabric of an upholstered piece of furniture. Price does certainly reflect the quality of a piece. Ask the sales people in the furniture showroom about the frame, the foam, the pillow and cushion content. All of these elements affect the price. Be sure to understand what you are buying to suit your budget and durability needs.  

To illustrate sofa options I've selected sofa models from Sherrill Furniture. There are so many other options and styles. These examples will help you identify what style you like before you go shopping.
Furniture photos courtesy of Sherrill Furniture.  

Single seat cushion, high arms, pillow back with skirt.

Single seat cushion, look pillow back, lower arms, with skirt.

Single seat cushion, loose pillow back, integrated arm with exposed legs.

Two seat cushion, loose pillow back, low arm with skirt.

Three seat cushion, pillow back (may be attached or detached), wider arm with exposed legs.

Single seat cushion, tufted upholstered back with exposed legs.

Two seat cushion, loose pillow back. detailed exposed leg.

Two seat cushion, two pillow back, low arm with skirt.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East. www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com

Simplify the Holidays

The Christmas commercials have already started. Are you ready for a relaxing and fun-filled holiday season? Or are you about to get caught up in the frenzy of shopping, decorating, cooking and entertaining without a clue as to how to keep your sanity? If you choose the first option, then I've got a plan for you!    

            Let's face it, new merchandise in the shops, catalogs arriving daily, magazines full of decorating ideas and the TV screaming "buy me!" can turn the best of us into plastic-tossing shop-a-holics. In our quest to create the perfect holiday, we often think that bigger is better and have this crazy desire to outdo whatever we did last year, even though it almost killed us!  Some people think that if they buy more of the newest seasonal offerings that the holiday will be perfect. Not true! The best way to have a wonderful holiday is to simplify it and enjoy the time you’ll spend with family and friends.  It's easy to make smart choices and balance your schedule so that you, too, can enjoy the holiday season.

Here's the plan:

1. Reduce clutter. I know it's the latest buzz in decorating, but it is the best way to improve your home. During the holidays you’ll have more stuff in your home and you’ll need to make room for it. Holiday décor, family gatherings, baking and cooking will make your home busy and over-crowded, so eliminate everything that could potentially be in your way this holiday season. Make room for the new items and collections and for all of the “stuff” that your family will bring with them.

2. Plan ahead. It is possible. Find out what family plans are and adjust schedules accordingly. Mark your calendar and stay ahead of your to do list by not putting items off until tomorrow.

3. Shorten your gift list. By doing this you will spend less time shopping and save money. Make a gift list before you shop and stay focused. If you have a fixed budget stick to it. The holiday should be joyful, not painful. If you overspend it will come back to bite you in the end, so don't do it!

4. Maximize shopping time. Now that you've made your list, plan your trip to gather your items in the least amount of time. Spend less time “shopping” and more time interacting with your family and friends. 

5. Keep decorations simple. Mass produced inexpensive decorations are everywhere and it's easy to load up on stuff without thinking of where you'll put it. Don’t do it! Look over what you already have, then decide what you need - or can do without. Remember, whatever you buy has to be put away again after the holidays! Choose carefully and you can make a spectacular focal point with a minimum of "things".

6. Host a “Decorate my Home” party. Invite a few close friends over and decorate your home together. It is a great way to spend time with people and to get your home decorated at the same time. Snacks, drinks and music make for a great decorating party.

7. Bake cookies with friends or family. Make a list of all of the items you will bake, divide the shopping list and share the expense of the ingredients. Make a big mess in one kitchen and cleanup together. This is a great way to get your baking list done and have a larger assortment of goodies. You'll save money and have fun cooking with the crowd!

8. Plan your menu. If you are hosting family over several days, plan your menu for each day and shop accordingly. This will reduce last minute running around and create a lot less stress.

9. Keep parties small. You’d love to include everyone, but be realistic. Invite those that you truly want to spend time with. Smaller gatherings will be easier to prepare and accommodate.

10. Shorten your to do list. It is easy to make a long list of the things you want to do; there's nothing wrong with that. But as your time gets tighter, start crossing off items. Do only what is truly important and eliminate the rest.

I write all of this as a former “my holiday has to be perfect” person. I finally realized that it is about being with people and enjoying everything about the holiday. It isn’t about spending time in long lines, being stuck in the kitchen all day or cleaning the house for hours before guests arrive. I used to go all-out and create a "Martha Stewart" holiday. It was perfect and beautiful. But it was stressful and a lot of work. I created long days and nights for myself and had no time to enjoy the results. Then one year I decided enough was enough and simplified. It was still wonderful. My home was beautiful and I had more time to have fun and enjoy my family and friends.

            Please give consideration to my list and learn from my transition from a stressful holiday to creating a simplified holiday. There’s a saying, “If it isn’t fun, why do it?”. Well that certainly applies to the holiday season.

Julie Fergus, ASID, is a nationally published interior designer. Her studio and showroom is located in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. Julie's clients are primarily in the Lakes Region and Mount Washington Valley, however, she will travel throughout the state and North East. www.JulieFergus.com | www.DesignByMail.com