Fanciful Christmas Trees

If ever there is a time to be over-the-top and indulge your flights of fancy, it is during the holidays. Extravagance is delicious in small, temporary doses. When spread upon the Christmas tree - the ideal canvas - opulence looks extraordinary. I've compiled a few images of fanciful Christmas trees below for inspiration.

What makes this spruce tree remarkable is the use of oversized ornaments in a monochromatic palette that perfectly suits the pale tones and formal mood of the room. Silver and white dominate the scheme with long, shiny ornaments elongating the form. (The plastercast reindeer adds a whimsical and dramatic touch!)

This tree in this California home looks luxe with its peacock tree-topper. Ornaments in warm oranges and ocres are offset by punches of cool blue and green. Thick, flowing bands of wide ribbon running vertically down the length of the tree add to the dramatic height.

The entrance to this New Orleans condominium is a study in theatricality with its trio of hanging chandeliers and dramatic floral arrangements. The tree, a fragrant cypress, is an unusual and beautiful choice. It is decroated in gold and red tassles and hand-sewn ornaments. Several starburst mirrors are tucked into the branches for added brilliance.

This Manhattan atelier is transformed into a holiday vision with a 15-foot high tree decorated in 8,000 tiny lights and a multitude of red, green and white ornaments.

A diminutive tree in a rustic kitchen in Connecticut is decorated in citrus tones - pale limes and orange hues interspersed with white and silver accents.

Gift Wrapping Station

How do you store your wrapping paper, ribbons, trim and tie-ons? If you're anything like me you resort to grouping a bunch of rolls of gifwrap together and stuffing them at the back of a closet. Ribbons are stuffed into a shoe box and little tie-ons and tags are crammed into a plain brown envelope marked "Tags" in black Sharpie. (I may love the art of gift-wrapping, but the keeping of such occasional fare generally escapes my somewhat exacting standards.)

However, the wall-mounted gift-wrapping station ($299) at Pottery Barn is a stroke of organizational genius. I only recently discovered it during a recent trip to the store, and it hasn't quite left my imagination since. What I like about it is that it is wall-mounted, safely and neatly kept out of one's path, easy to access (no stooping or reaching required) and perfectly appointed for prime storage. It measures 32.5" wide by 34" high and has two drawers with labels for various ribbons, scissors and trim. There is a space for envelopes and craft booklets (Martha Stewart Holiday issues anyone?) and two shelves for extra storage. Nicest of all is the ability to store four of your favourite papers and ribbons on sturdy wooden dowels.

It would be the proverbial cherry in any craft room scenario, but the perfect proportions of the piece would lend themselves to just about any room in the house: a spare bedroom, the laundry room, the home office, even a quiet corner in the kitchen. Get wrapping!

This Year's Stationery

Since I discovered Etsy early last year I have been a fastidious supporter of the venture: think eBay with a homemade bent. On Etsy anyone can set up a 'shop' to sell their crafts and handmade goods, from knitted scarfs and handmade clothing to stationery and journals. Whatever crafty item you're looking for, you'll find it on Etsy.

I ordered my holiday stationery from a seller on Etsy (byvikINK) that I have been very pleased with in the past. She specializes in one-of-a-kind letterpress designs, which I absolutely love. I ordered these packages of holiday stationery last week and received them today. Each package contains a set of six cards with coloured envelopes. If you'd like to forego the usual cards this year, I urge you to explore Etsy.

I love the Scandanavian-folk designs of my cards this year, and the detail of the imagery. They're elegant without being ostentatious or gaudy and they still have that element of whimsy and fun that the holidays are all about. I hope you like them. At least a few of you readers will be receiving one in the mail...but which one? You'll have to wait.

Take a Bough

There is no written rule about foregoing container gardening in the chill of the winter months. In fact, a front porch or walkway flanked by beautiful winter arrangements in sturdy containers can add zest and colour to an otherwise dreary landscape. Look to these clever containers below, which combine traditional and unexpected elements, and create your own outdoor holiday pots for a hit of holiday pizzazz on your stoop this winter.

Use plastic, concrete or iron containers for these arrangements, since ceramics may crack from the cold, especially where moisture is involved. Insert a small bucket or jug into the garden container and fill with water. Place the boughs and berry branches inside. The water will likely freeze, keeping the boughs in place and preserving their stems for longer-lasting greenery. On mild days, the boughs will be able to drink from this well. In the arrangement above, oversized cones from California's sugar pine mingle with hot-pink king proteas from South Africa, scarlet native winterberries, cedar boughs and Scotch pine branches. Fasciated willow gives the arrangement height.

Country goes upscale as green apples and pears are tucked in among magnolia leaves and gold-tipped cedar under a fountain of yellow dogwood twigs. Faux fruit, which is used here, is longer lasting and easier to secure to the arrangement. For the best effect, group the fruit into bunches and layer the foliage for volume.

A brilliant red container plays host to winterberries, magnolia leaves, fasciated willow and a traditional mix of pine and fir branches with California sugar pinecones tucked in.

This sturdy concrete vessel holds a mixture of boxwood boughs, winterberry sprigs, thin birch logs for contrast and red dogwood twigs for height. Nestled into the boxwood is a glass lantern with a candle.

(photos by Canadian Gardening Life magazine)

A Man for all Species

Pet expert, and pet-store owner, Marc Morrone, has a new book on petkeeping on the way. The book, "A Man for All Species" charts the experiences and adventures of a master pet keeper and animal lover and he imparts his advice on raising animals at home. Many of us know Marc from his appearances on Martha Stewart Living television and The Martha Stewart Show. We've heard him on the radio and read his columns in some of Martha's magazines, including Kids and Martha Stewart Living. Martha writes the foreword of his new book, which will be out on April 20th, 2010.

I hadn't realized that Marc had written these small books for children about pet keeping: Ask The Cat Keeper, Ask the Dog Keeper, Ask the Fish Keeper and Ask the Bird Keeper.

Marthawear

It was through my friend Kenn that I discovered a new feature in the "Shop" section of Marthastewart.com. It's a section devoted to 'Marthawear' - everything the Martha fan needs to show a hint of Marthaness. It includes t-shirts, sweatshirts, aprons, various tote bags and an umbrella. Below are three of my favourites. Orders are filled by Amazon.com but are not eligible for shipping outside the U.S.
Okay, so it's just a brown t-shirt with a few words written on it. But, oh such iconic words!

I've got to get one of these totes. It has the large "Martha" logo from the television show wrapping around the sides. It looks sturdy and is made of thick, heavy canvas. Heavy duty!
What makes the umbrella attractive is the multi-coloured stripe detail under the top. Lovely!

Margaret Roach's New Book

Margaret Roach, former editorial director for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, author of the excellent book A Way to Garden and current administrator of its companion blog, awaytogarden.com, is in the midst of writing her new gardening book. I was excited to hear over the weekend that the first draft of her 70,000-word tome was turned into her publisher just a few days ago. In a newsletter to her regular readers, Margaret shares some information about the new book, which is due out sometime in November or December of 2010. I'll share them with you now:

"It was the longest piece of writing I'd ever attempted, and also the most personal. It's a book about dropping out, at midlife and in peak career; about trying not to be afraid of lost prestige or about money - or about snakes or electric storms and whatever else rattles my cage.

"It is a story about starting to realize a dream I'd had for more than 20 years but always been too afraid to try - to live in my rural garden fulltime and return to the personal creativity that got lost in my executive years in publishing. It's a book about letting nature be the guide, finally, and listening to its signals; about looking for (and finding) some peace.

"...Awaytogarden.com was the first thing I created in the aftermath of my old life. It is the most precious possession in my new life, largely because of how welcome and connected all of you make me feel each day, even as I sit alone at my table in Nowheresville at my old table littered with all my writing stuff, pondering."

Margaret is an exceptional writer and is certainly my favourite garden writer. She perfectly blends the philosophical with the practical, which is so much of what true gardening is about. She uses language gorgeously, weaving engaging sentences that make the reader want to get down into the dirt and start digging. I'm sure this new book will be incredible and I can't wait to read it!

Good Things Come in Threes!

What's big and glossy and filled with cookies, crafts and glitter? Why, it's the December issue of Martha Stewart Living, which arrived in my mailbox today. It is an utterly beautiful, utterly fantastic, utterly inspiring issue to behold! What's more, the December issue this year comes with a triple cover! (See them all below!) I always suggest to all my friends, whether they're Martha fanatics like me or not, that they get the December issue of Martha Stewart Living. It's like nothing else on the newsstand this time of year.

In the issue, there is everything you'd come to expect from the issue, which is actually very thick this year. In the issue, Martha describes the virtues of artificial trees and shows us some from her collection. Crafts and recipes for Hanukkah and Christmas make up the bulk of the Good Things sections. There are plenty of new cookie recipes, including chewy chocolate raisin cookies I'm dying to try! Try your hand at a Hanukkah menu this year or embark on some no-knit craft projects to create gifts for friends and family. Learn how to wrap everything in a special gift-wrapping section or make a chocolate-chestnut mousse cake.

In the well of the magazine, there is an alphabet of ideas, including a special remembrance by Martha in which she reflects on the quietude of her Bedford farm at winter and the beauty of the snow on the landscape. On newsstands on November 16th!

Martha takes the actual cover.
Martha's crochembouche is featured the second cover.

A pair of glittered bells is on the third cover. (I love how the titles of all three covers are glittered galore!)

A Year In the Country (via suds)

Working at one of Canada's three new Anthropologie stores has numerous perks, not the least of which is being surrounded by luxuriant scents for the entirety of my time on duty. Within the store is a glorious selection of home and personal fragrances, carefully chosen by our offices to reflect the image of our brand, including candles, perfumes and soaps.

I was thrilled when I learned several months ago that two friends of mine had joined the numerous vendors that Anthropologie brings on board on a continuous basis. Dr. Brent Ridge (a former health editor at Martha Stewart Living magazine) and his partner Josh Kilmer-Purcell (a novelist and advertising executive) are owners of the prolifically productive Beekman Farm in Sharon Springs, New York. They now sell various examples of their fine, all-natural goat's-milk soaps at Anthropologie, including an exclusive new boxed collection of 12 handmade soaps, straight from the mills of their farm.

Their "A Year In the Country" soap collection features all twelve of their custom-formulated scents (12 soaps with particular scents that reflect seasonal fragrances) and comes in a beautiful, sturdy wooden box. I adore the label on the tin!

When I told Brent about my little scream of delight when I received the delivery of his soap at our store in Toronto, he informed me that he personally made, by hand, each of the metal lids on each of the hundreds of boxes that are being shipped to Anthropologie stores across North America, and to the new store in London, England. He also had to hand cut each of the small holes on the lids, which act as gripping mechanisms to slide the lid open. His effort paid off -the collection is beautiful!

Underneath each monthly soap is a description of the scent and the natural derivatives that were used to achieve it. All the soap is handmade at the Beekman farm by Brent and Josh (with help from Farmer John!) using the milk from their prized goats.

In any case, the soaps are delightful and are so beautifully packaged that I will naturally be buying myself a box. I urge you to seek them out at the Anthropologie nearest you or order them online at anthropologie.com

NOTE: I will be visiting Brent and Josh at the farm in December, so I'll have a full report about their beautiful little piece of earth, with photos!

Martha Stewart Holiday Issue

Watch the newsstands this week for the newest special Holiday issue by Martha Stewart Living - a supplement to the monthly publication that is not part of the subscription. This new glossy issue, which is free of advertisements, is a collection of 100 sweet recipes for the holiday season, hand picked by Martha. From Thanksgiving to New Year's, you'll have your desserts covered.. Cupcakes, pies, tarts, truffles, petits-fours are all part of the parcel, as are a series of delicious cakes. Be sure to get your copy!

Cookbooks by Omnistaff

I recall Martha saying in an interview once that one of her greatest rewards as an employer is seeing her staff grow and develop, and that she encourages them to start their own enterprises and projects. It seems that guidance has paid off for a number of Martha's food editors, many of whom now have their own cookbooks and independent businesses.

Below are a few cookbooks by Omnimedia food staff that you may want to check out.

John Barricelli, a food editor at Martha Stewart Living, host of Everyday Baking and co-host of Everyday Food, has a new coming out in March. It is a compilation of some of his most beloved recipes from his bakery (the SoNo Baking Company and Cafe) in Norwalk, Connecticut. I'm really looking forward to this book. It has a foreword by Martha.

Matt Lee and Ted Lee, writers of the wine column in Martha Stewart Living magazine, devote most of their time to the traditions and flavours of Southern cooking. Their new book "Simple, Fresh, Southern" is a collection of time-honoured Southern classics with a modern twist.

Lucinda Scala Quinn, ediorial director for food at Martha Stewart Living and co-host of the Everyday Food program on PBS, has written a fantastic new book about a topic that concerns many moms out there: feeding men and boys! Dealing with the ravenous appetites of the male stomach, the book humorously (but effectively) compiles strategies and survival techniques to get the boys fed and full each night on a reasonable budget, while not foresaking nutrition and good health. My friend Kenn recently attended one of Lucinda's promo lectures for the book. Please take some time to read his account here. "Mad Hungry" is not Lucinda's only cookbook. She has also written two excellent books about Jamaican cookery and a book on Italian cooking at home.

Susan Spungen, former editorial director for food at Martha Stewart Living, is currently a freelance cook and food writer, working primarily for film and television. (She was the creator of all that delicious food on screen in the hit film "Julie & Julia" last summer!) Her cookbook, simply titled "Recipes," has a foreword by Martha Stewart and is a collection of some of her finest creations. I always loved Susan's work at the magazine. I found it simple, fresh and beautiful.