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The native New Yorker, integral in developing the aesthetic of Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma, had long been immersed in an inextricable romance with France, dating from his days as a teen on his first European adventure. “I remember getting happily lost in the winding streets of neighborhoods like the Marais, Saint-Germain, and Latin Quarter, discovering inspiring passages, lovely parks, magnificent bridges, and splendid brasseries,” he says. “For years, I came to Paris for 10 glorious days every July to celebrate my birthday....

Tips Prepare as directed through Step 7. Cover; chill up to 24 hours. Serve as above.

3 cup white grape juice or water 1 kiwi 4 strawberries

1 ounce finely chopped, cooked, andouille 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning 1 teaspoon honey 1 tablespoon bourbon ¾ cup whipping cream Steamed Spinach 1 10 ounce package spinach, torn * If you like, skip cooking the fresh sweet potatoes and substitute 1-1/3 cups mashed canned sweet potatoes.

1 cup cucumber, seeded and chopped ½ cup mayonnaise or salad dressing ⅓ cup buttermilk ½ teaspoon curry powder ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

When looking for the best kitchen trash can for your space, it’s important to keep in mind both look and function. If you have small kids or pets, for example, you’ll want to find a trash can with a lockable lid, or if you’re leaving your trash can out in the open, you’ll want something stylish to store away your garbage. Overall, the best kitchen trash can is the Simplehuman Rectangular Step Trash Can because it is made of stainless steel and features a silent close lid, a strong steel pedal, and a removable liner bucket that makes clean-up efficient and easy....

Unfortunately, refrigerators are large and expensive, so you aren’t likely to have multiple of them in your home in all the places you may want to enjoy an item stored there. One easy way to help keep food and drinks cold in any space is with the addition of a mini fridge. Whether you’re looking to keep your lunch fresh while at work or a place to chill your favorite wine bottles, this list has plenty of smaller refrigerator options to cool just about anything....

We asked Jason Kazakos, Managing Director of Zebra Home Improvement Limited, about what factors to consider when shopping for the best tool kits. “The best tool kit will be robust, ideally waterproof, and the right size for your needs,” Kazakos says. “Too big and it could get unnecessarily overloaded and become too heavy to carry around, and, if it’s too small, it might not fit the most essential items.” He also recommended looking for tool kits with durable cases that can protect the tools inside....

The best fans provide a wide range of speeds, offer an oscillating feature to help move air around the whole room, and remain super quiet, even on the highest setting. This versatility allows you to change how much airflow you need, choose between a direct breeze or one that keeps the entire room cool, and go about your normal tasks without a loud buzzing sound bothering you. We put 31 different fans to the test in our lab to determine which ones will actually keep you cool and comfortable during hot weather....

“In general, vacuums for tile floors must remove soil without the use of an agitator—as when cleaning carpet—to prevent the vacuum from marring the surface,” says Allen Rathey, director of the Indoor Health Council. “That said, airflow and suction are very important factors, and canister vacs with a suction-only wand and floor tool, and stick and upright vacuums that offer a suction-only option, are great at cleaning smooth floors.” A soft roller head brushbar is also ideal for cleaning and polishing tile floors without scratching them....

Materials 101 Collect these items to round out your basic sewing kit. Needle Guide Sewing machine needles come in several different types; here are a few of the more popular. Use sharps for woven fabrics, ballpoints for stretch fabrics, or a universal needle, which is a compromise between the two. Pay attention to the numbers at the bottom of the needle packaging—the higher the number, the larger the needle. Use size 70/10 or smaller for lightweight fabrics, 80/12 for regular sewing, and 90/14 or larger for heavyweight fabrics....

When to Fertilize Cool-Season Grasses Use this quick rule of thumb for the best time to add winter fertilizer to your lawn: Apply in September, unless you live in the southern third of the U.S. That’s because the northern two-thirds of the U.S. is home to lawns with cool-season grasses or “transition” lawns with both cool-season and warm-season grasses. Throwing a lot of fertilizer on your cool-season lawn in July is a waste of money because in high summer, those grass roots are just biding their time, waiting for the temperatures to go back down so they can spread out some more....

Now, Letterfolk has reimagined how we decorate (and redecorate) our homes again with the launch of its placemats. The new Letterfolk Placemats feature the same hexagon tile design as the beloved Tile Mats, with removable caps in a range of colors that you can easily arrange however you like on the mat to make images, designs, and words. Much smaller than the original Tile Mat—the size of a traditional placemat, as you’d guess based on the name, and shaped like a stretched-out hexagon—the Placemat allows you to customize your table with colorful decorations that you can rearrange any time you want....