Ever look in your grill with fear that the “peeling paint” under the top hood might be a sign you need a replacement? It is most likely only a buildup of carbon from the accumulated smoke and grease of using the grill, according to RealSimple.com. Instead of tossing, it is time to clean your grill. [...]
In a race to predate each other, two staples of modern Hampton life—cheese and wine, run neck in neck for the claim. Evidence of wine production has been uncovered in excavation sites from 6000 BC in Georgia, 5000 BC in Iran, and 4500 BC in Greece. There is even evidence of rice-and-honey wine on pottery [...]
Nothing says “summer” like Memorial Day! Break out the whites, throw open the windows, warm up the grill. With the official start of summer, the Hamptons buzz with regulars and tourists alike. Kicking off the weekend are the Southampton Artists Association Memorial Day Art Show (opening reception from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, [...]
With Memorial Day just around the corner, are you ready to begin a full season of hosting in the Hamptons? Here at A Votre Service! Hamptons Property Management we’ve found natural cleaning solutions using white vinegar to help you clean those pesky out-of-way problems before guests arrive. We bet some just might surprise you! White [...]
With only four weeks to the official start of summer, May 1st paints the scene for parties, celebrations, and holidays. Are you ready? Beginning with La Fête de Travail (known as National Labor Day in France, also La Fête du Muguet or Lily-of-the-Valley Day), or May Day as it is commonly called, we give Muguet [...]
April showers and taxes got you down? And which came first, the proverb or the income tax? Commonly recited as “April showers bring May flowers,” the English Dialect Society in 1886 called this “one of our oldest and commonest saws”: March winds and April showers bringeth vo’th May flowers. [Elworthy, Frederick Thomas, West Somerset Word-Book [...]
Let the feasting begin! Restaurant Week in the Hamptons for 2016 runs April 3 through April 10, followed by Long Island Restaurant Week April 17 through 24. What better way to check out the newest and greatest menus while beating the summer crowds. At $27.95 per three-course meal, make your reservations now to try all [...]
On St. Patrick’s Day everyone’s Irish, right? Long before the Irish were leaving Ireland because of the Great Potato famine, Irish and other settlers arrived in the Hamptons for the prospect of farming potatoes and other crops. (See http://www.easthampton.com/history/.) Predominantly English in origin though the Dutch allegedly settled earlier, and not to mention the Native [...]
In like…gangbusters? It’s time to prepare and tackle your spring cleaning list. Okay, we know most of you aren’t actually doing your own cleaning, but managing it can still be a full-time chore. And when in the Hamptons, no one wants chores. So let us help! We’ve served thousands of homes since 1995, and can [...]
Could it be the exhaustion from long and dreary winter months with no immediate holidays on the horizon? The bleakness of more snow and cold? The hope for a warm beach and gentle, rolling waves? Maybe it's the endless hours spent commuting in the dark? The romance of Valentine's Day spent dreaming of romantic beach [...]
In France, the holiday on February 2 is called La Chandeleur (Candlemas, or feast of the candles), or Fête des lumières (festival of lights). Marking the midpoint of winter, between the shortest day of the year and the spring equinox, Candlemas offers protection and light, with its own weather sayings that would make a groundhog [...]
Rather than sitting the little ones in front of unlimited cartoons or, for the older ones, a Netflix marathon, why not entice them to help out around the house? By making chores a chance to connect with mom or dad, children can learn responsibility without even realizing it. (Older children might require bribes, but that's [...]
(1) Simplify your life. Let us help you reclaim time and space by showing you how to let go of the excess, the clutter, the “stuff” that holds you back. Feng shui practitioners understand how physical clutter burdens us with mental clutter. Give yourself a fresh start for the New Year! Let us help you [...]
The gift-giving season is upon us, and whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, or the winter solstice, I thought I’d come up with some helpful suggestions based on this year’s blogs, month by month: January—Start the year off right with a sumptuous “king cake”: http://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/kingcakes February—Keep on hand those Valentine’s Day essentials: Veuve Clicquot, https://www.sherry-lehmann.com/wine/champagne-and-sparkling-wine; Valrhona [...]
Does everyone know the story of Kevin from the movie Home Alone? Poor Kevin, the youngest child in the McCallister family, is accidentally left all alone at Christmas time while the rest of the family flies to Paris (in French, the title of the movie is Maman, j’ai raté l’avion, which we can translate as, [...]
It should come as no surprise that there is a long history of Native American residence in eastern Long Island. The Montaukett and Shinnecock tribes were both active in this area. In the seventeenth century Chief Wyandanch of the Montaukett sold land to the English colonists, including what is now Gardiner’s Island, for “a large [...]
Today I want to talk about André Malraux (November 3, 1901–November 23, 1976): writer, art theorist, and perhaps what is lesser known, France’s first Minister of Culture under de Gaulle. In that capacity he launched a program to clean the façades of France’s most important buildings; eventually there arose the “loi Malraux” (the Malraux law) [...]
With Halloween approaching I’m reminded of an episode of the Honeymooners in which Ralph and Norton compete for first prize for their costumes at a Halloween party (watch the full episode here—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doDAfhbu‐‐U). Not to give too much away, but Norton dresses as Pierre François de la Brioski, the (fictional) designer and builder of the sewers [...]
Our property management services can help you maintain your Hamptons home. What, you ask, might this entail? Let us begin with a comparison to one of the great emblems of life in the States, the Statute of Liberty (or La Liberté éclairant le monde), which was dedicated in this in this month in 1886. As [...]
Fall begins September 23 and soon enough the leaves will be changing colors, it will be time to put away all the beach clothing and pull out the sweaters, to stow away the barbecue and get the fireplace ready. It’s also the time of les vendages (grape harvest), and the making of fine wine. Happily, [...]
