Magazine Monday, Nov. 1 - Martha Stewart Living



Martha Stewart you say? 

I like Martha Stewart for the very reasons a lot of people dislike Martha Stewart.  The woman has the uncanny ability to make a mountain out of a molehill.  :)

No joke.

Instead of going to the store and buying a paper bag, the woman will go into her backyard, chop down a tree, have it processed in her mini paper mill she keeps in her 100 year old shed, and wallah, she has a paper bag that looks just like the one I bought in the store for 25 cents. 

Martha doesn't ever try to tell you this is how you should do it though; Martha is a self admitted control freak and OCD person.
If Martha wants to make a paper bag instead of going to buy one, she does.

You go, Martha.

I've been a Martha fan since I bought this book

Remember this?

Me and Martha, we go way back. :)

The magazine continues some of the tradition started in her original books...along with some newer sections as well.
One of my favorite newer sections of Martha Stewart Living is her photography section.
Oy.

Of course Martha has her own little studio...filled with several computers for various and asundry purposes...

particular photo editing programs and online services that she likes to use...as well as a big screen HDtv for previewing photos.

Did I already say Oy?

And heavens to Betsy...please don't forget all the top of the line photography equipment...

I was drooling at this point.

After I finished updating my "Dream On, Sister" wishlist, Martha brought me back to reality...

pears decorated using simple but delicious smelling cloves to welcome guests...

Now, I was kidding about Martha bringing me back down to Earth from the stratosphere of camera equipment....

this is the stuff I really like about Martha.

Whenever possible, Martha uses natural ingredients and decorates using traditionally inspired ideas.

I'm giving these pears a try this year...they're just so warm, unpretentious and inviting.

Don't you think??

How 'bout this pomegrante door hanger as the photo introducing her "Good Things" section??

If you know anything at all about Martha, you know there will be some very "good things."

 

More good things...

this time for the kids...

 

Martha can get really get elaborate with entertaining, but she seems to try and be realistic about it as well. 

Take this breakfast planned for when a hostess may have a large crew in the house...most people have their own routines, likes and dislikes, etc. 

This kind of breakfast would satisfy most...and doesn't mean the hostess has to spend hours and hours in the kitchen preparing each and every meal

My brother says people who stay at my house are on their own.

He stayed at my house once, and I didn't make him breakfast.

Now, he'll never let me forget it.

Little brothers are just that way ;)

 

Martha always includes things from her own home as well as ideas and photographs from the homes of other real people...not celebrities.

 

I love that this table has a bench with it :)

The table my parents had in our dining room while I was growing up had a bench :):)

And, I absolutely adore the pumpkins and long candles as centerpieces.

 

Oh my!!

Aren't these seasonal desserts fabulous!!!!

And, of course, Martha will talk you through wine selection...frugality is always considered but with the understanding that you should always buy the best wine you can...and by all means, depending on the occasion, you may, in fact, have to splurge.  The choice is up to you.

 Besides entertaining, there's also a section for weeknight cooking...this pasta shells recipe is a family favorite and can even be prepared and frozen on the weekend to be taken out some busy night and still provide a hot nutritious supper for a hungry bunch of kids and husband. 

Martha provides the original recipe as well as some options for fillers depending on an individual's family's personal likes and dislikes.

 Now, this is the kind of mountain out of a molehill that I think Martha does very well. 
While she is certainly ahead of the game with the newest and most sparkly techno gadgets, she also honors timeless traditions such as letter writing, invitations, and thank-you notes. 

There is nothing like a handwritten note...yes, email is quicker and can be shot out in a heartbeat...but a handwritten note sends a message just with the note itself...no matter what it says inside...that the writer thought enough of you to go the extra mile...to put in a little extra effort...to send you a message.

Now, here's where Martha overwhelms me and even makes me feel guilty.  The section on housekeeping kills me. 

She has a housekeeping agenda.

Daily, weekly, monthly, bi-annually and yearly.

Oy.

My housekeeping agenda is.....

get it done when you can, when you think about it, and/or when somebody runs out of underwear :)

This month's housekeeping includes how to make room in your home for guests...closets, drawers, etc.

A final recipe for each month usually goes along with the season of the magazine issue.

For November, it was a Pumpkin Cream Pie

Gingersnaps for the crust!!!!

I'm makin' this for our Thanksgiving this year!

Even after all that baking, decorating and entertaining, Martha is not done yet because she is also a collector...where in the world she puts all of her stuff, I'll never know.  But, there is always a section on a particular collectible, how to tell authentic from copy, and lots of gorgeous pictures of the various forms, kinds, labels, designs, etc.

With all her organization, cleanliness and attention to detail, it may surprise some to know that Martha is a pet lover.  She actually has numerous cats and dogs living inside her house and quite a few other animals as well living outside. 

In last month's issue Martha showed how her renovated kitchen was organized (she had, of course, planned out every inch) including a "pet station"...each of the animal's food bowl and containers of food were, of course, divided and had their own little individual station...

Uh-Oh asked why he did not have his own pet station.

I told him to quit reading my magazines. :)

On the flip side of this month's issue is an actual section on pets.

Martha has always had Chows and Himalyan cats...another of the reasons I like her...most of her publications include pictures of her animals sitting in chairs, on couches, etc. where they obviously are comfortable being.

I don't read every section of Martha Stewart Living because there are some sections that don't appeal to me at all...the crafting section (this month was knitting)...yes, Martha sews...why are you surprised???

 and the gardening is a little over my head...

but I still look at the fantastic pictures :)

Keep it comin', Martha!