Martha's Entertaining: A Sneak Peek

I've been waiting for this book for years. Ever since Martha first mentioned that she was working a new book about entertaining in 2007, my interest has been irreversibly piqued. Martha's Entertaining, A Year of Celebrations promises to be Martha Stewart's most personal and enchanting book to date, filled with new recipes and beautiful photographs of her homes on Long Island, in Maine and Upstate New York. Written entirely by her (with recipe development from her personal chef, Pierre Schaedelin) the book presents Martha's unique vision throughout 432 glossy pages, all bound in hardcover, coffee-table format. It is going to be classic Martha - the Martha many of us were first introduced to in 1982. Timeless, elegant and sophisticated. I just so happen to have a copy of a press catalog that was issued filled with beautiful photographs from the book, as well as a table of contents. I wanted to share some of the highlights with you, for the sake of enticement and anticipation!

The contents are arranged by time of day, not by season or occasion, which is a genius and practical way to present recipes and ideas for various gatherings. 

Mornings: Blueberry Breakfast, Favorite Ideas for Breakfast Trays, Holiday Open-House Brunch, An Elegant Breakfast at Skylands, Easter Brunch, Breakfast on the Porch

Afternoons: Paté Campagnard Lunch, Easter Egg Hunt, A Luncheon For Bedford Farmers, Tea in the Afternoon, Peony Garden Party, July 4th Barbecue, Summer Cocktail Party, Picnic at Sea, Japanese Lunch, Ice Cream Social, Bridal Shower in Maine

Evenings: Celebrating a Master Gardener, Friday Night Welcome Dinner, Stylish Dinner in the Clerestory, Burgundy Dinner, Halloween Pumpkin Blaze, Thanksgiving at Bedford, Christmas at Cantitoe Corners, Dinner Party Desserts, Easter Dinner, Danish Smorrebrod in New York City, Verdant Spring Dinner

Martha's Peony Party at Bedford

An autumn arrangement made by Kevin Sharkey at Bedford. He lined a very old fine cast-iron container with plastic, then filled it with chrysanthemums, begonia leaves, scented geraniums, Bupleurum and eucalyptus. The gilded turkeys were made of a composite material covered with gold leaf.

Tea biscuits and scones presented on a tiered cake stand on the porch at Bedford

"I was happy to present a simpler version of the classic croquembouche," Martha writes about her holiday dinner party at Bedford. "We had cream puffs baked with pearl sugar for extra crunchiness on the crust, then filled with pastry cream. There was no caramel holding the puffs together, as there is in the traditional dessert. They were served profiterole-style, with warm chocolate sauce."

Promotional spots for the book: the Today Show, The Ellen Degeneres Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Dedicated entertaining programming on the Hallmark Channel, major promotion on The Martha Stewart Show, Martha Stewart Living magazine, on Martha Stewart Sirius Satellite Radio and at MarthaStewart.com.

National book tour: New York City, New York Metro area, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and more to be announced.

And the Winner Is...

PetSmart and I are very pleased to announce that Jessica Hodgson of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (my hometown!) is the proud new owner of the Martha Stewart Double Cat Feeder and the Martha Stewart Feeding Mat from PetSmart! We were touched by Jessie's story of adopting one of her cats, Koah, from the streets of Daegu in South Korea and organizing to have him brought back to Canada with her. Her other cat, Neko, is also an adopted pet, found at the Ottawa Humane Society. Thanks to everyone who entered. If we could, we would give each of you a prize. You are all clearly deserving. Congratulations, Jessie! We hope Koah and Neko enjoy the Martha Stewart bowls and feeding mat. (She sent us this photo with Koah to show her excitement!)

PetSmart Giveaway: Martha Stewart Cat Feeders!

The very nice people at PetSmart contacted me with an opportunity to provide one of my lucky readers with a giveaway from the new Martha Stewart Pets line for cats at PetSmart. The reader will receive the Martha Stewart Double Feeder for cats in signature blue as well as the Martha Stewart Silicon Feeding Mat for cats, also in blue. The items will be shipped directly from PetSmart to the lucky winner to anywhere in the United States or Canada.

So, here's what you have to do. It's easy: send an email to dreamboat7@hotmail.com with "Martha Moments Giveaway" as the subject line stating why you deserve to win these pet products, and you don't necessarily have to be a cat owner. Keep the comment short - one or two sentences - and be sure to state your name and write your location in the comment. Again, only readers with Canadian or US addresses are eligible to win these items.

All of the submissions will be posted as comments on this post by me for others to see. The winner will be chosen on Monday, September 19th, and announced in a new post with their comment and name published in the text. I will then contact you personally by responding to your email with the exciting news! I will notify my contact at PetSmart and she will ship the items directly to your address. Good luck everyone! Here is a bit more about the prizes:

This double-feeder is efficient, modern and stylish. Includes air-tight lids for easy travel with your pet. Durable, lightweight, easy to clean. Rust-proof stainless steel bowls that can be removed for cleaning. Silicon ring under rim reduces noise. Liquids stay cooler longer. Non-skid bottom. Rubber base prevents marking of floors. Shaped hand-grip makes moving the bowls easier, without spills. Lids keep food fresh. A PetSmart exclusive.

This lipped-edge mat prevents messy spills and makes clean-up easier. A PetSmart exclusive.

Which Cover for October?

The editors at Martha Stewart Living are having a hard time choosing the cover of the October issue. On Facebook, Martha has opened the choice to a public vote and so far it's a pretty even split. The first cover was photographed by Jonathan Lovekin and the second by Cedric Angeles. Both are captivating, but which one do you like better? (Update: It seems the cover with the tarts made it to subscribers but watch for both covers on the newsstands. Which one do you like better?)

 

 

It's Cat Week!

Martha Stewart and PetSmart recently teamed up to develop a new line of products for cats, adding to the wide selection of Martha Stewart pet supplies already available at PetSmart. To celebrate the launch, I'm dedicating a week's worth of posts to the mystery and wonder of cats - and a very exciting giveaway that will see one reader receiving one of the new cat products from PetSmart! Stay tuned for details on that soon!

Among the new additions to the PetSmart line are cat-friendly feeding bowls and mats, a well-designed bed and an array of cat toys, all made exclusively for Pet Smart stores and PetSmart.com. Martha, who has five cats, tested the products with her pets at home and is very pleased with their quality, practicality and style.

Here is a list of the new cat products. Click here to learn more.

FEEDING:

-- 3-Piece Bowl Set or Double Feeder: Cat-sized feeding bowls are made of non-skid melamine with separate stainless-steel bowl inserts. Designed with shallow wells for a cat's sensitive whiskers, these durable, lightweight bowls also make clean-up easy. An air-seal lid helps keep food fresh, and the convenient hand grip means fewer spills.

-- Feeding Mat: This generously sized silicone mat catches food, while a lipped edge prevents wet, messy spillovers.

-- Can Cover: Any can of uneaten food can be easily resealed for refrigeration with this universal can cover. Each silicone lid fits three different can sizes, so the cat food will stay fresh until the next feeding.

-- Food Scoop: This food scoop, made of enamel-on-stainless-steel, makes portion control simple when measuring dry cat food.

-- Food Jar: This airtight container keeps dry cat food fresh and is pretty enough for the countertop. Made of smooth, sleek ivory melamine with 'Cat Food' lettering in blue.

BEDDING:

The 2-in-1 bed features fish-patterned, burnout fleece and is fully machine washable. This cozy, innovative bed comes in gray or brown and will be available in October.

-- 2-in-1 Bed: Pops up to create a hooded space for sleeping and playing out of view and collapses into a classic bolster shape.

TOYS:

Ten unique toys ensure fun and safe playtime for cats. Arriving in September, the cat toys are expressly designed to address different types of play and include independent toys to encourage play and exercise and interactive toys to provide bonding time for the cat and pet parent.

-- Dangle Toys: Dangling designs are great for independent or interactive play. These catnip-filled toys stimulate a cat's natural curiosity with their varied textures, animal faces and exciting smells.

-- Jingle Toys: These catnip-filled toys with jingling bells are great for independent or interactive play. Jingle toys are available in a variety of animal faces.

-- Knitted Toys: A toothsome crochet-knit construction makes these toys great for independent or interactive play. Knit toys are catnip-filled and come in a variety of textures and animal faces to arouse the cat's natural instincts.

-- Teasers: Teasers provide all-day entertainment with bright colors and soft materials that will keep the cat engaged and curious. For long-lasting independent play, a teaser or "fuzzy" can be sprayed with catnip oil.

Martha Stewart's New Yarn

A favourite destination for New York crafters is the Lion Brand Yarn Studio in Soho. It is a top source, too, for the crafters who work at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. The studio has been featured on Martha's TV show, in the magazine and on the marthastewart.com website and its subsidiary blogs. Little surprise, then, that the new line of yarns from Martha Stewart Crafts is currently available for preview at the Lion Brand website. You knitters out there will be dazzled by the array of styles and colours! Below is a gallery of the types of yarn available. The one shown above (cotton hemp yarn) is not yet available. Lion Brand makes the yarn and it will soon also be available where ever the Martha Stewart Crafts line is sold. See the full collection and the colours from the new collection here!

From the top: Cotton Hemp Yarn, Glitter Eyelash Yarn, Alpaca Blend, Extra-Soft Wool Blend, Lofty Wool Blend, Mambo Yarn, Merino Yarn, Roving Wool Yarn.

Homemade Teacup Lamp

Last year, for my birthday, I received a very special gift. My friend and former coworker Erin Ulrick - a talented designer - made me a lamp based on a design that I had seen online at Anthropologie's website. It was a lamp made from a collection of tea cups, saucers and a teapot. Since the lamp was not in stock at the store where I worked, and could not be shipped from the website, Erin adapted the design by using dinnerware she purchased from Anthropologie (From The Deep Dinnerware) and made the lamp herself! I was so impressed with the result. Just yesterday I purchased the lampshade - also from Anthropologie - and put the lamp on a small desk in my kitchen nook where I keep a lot of my files. The cup-and-saucer theme fits perfectly into the kitchen and I love the blue and white motifs. A friend called it "Nouveau Victorian - in a good way." I wholeheartedly agree!

Here are Erin's instructions on how to make the lamp, for all you do-it-yourselfers:

Drill a hole through the exact center of everything using a carbide tipped arrow head drill bit. (Be prepared to go through about 6 to 8 of these.)

To keep the bit cool while drilling you should keep a small cup nearby filled with about a half an inch of cold water. You can dip the tip into the water occasionally to cool it down. Don't push too hard, let the bit do the work. If you rush, the china may break. This step is extremely time consuming so be patient.

Lamp parts are available at most hardware stores. You can buy a kit with all the parts you're going to need. It will come with a cord, socket, harp and threaded tube. Follow the instructions on the lamp kit on how to put the basic pieces together.

Insert the tube through the drilled china starting at the top. When everythings in the spot you want put a washed and nut on the bottom to hold it all together.

Now moving on to your electrical lesson! You have to leave the harp and the light socket attatched to the china but remove the top section of the switch and access the terminal screws. (Terminal screws are the little ones on each side of the switch.) Now thread the electrical cord through the tube. Split the cord about an inch to an inch and a half and tie a knot in it. (You tie the knot so you can't disconnect the cord.) Strip approximately 3/4 of an inch of the insulation of the cord exposing the bare wires. Make a loop in the end of the bare wires and attatch it to the light bulb socket in a clock wise direction. Push the upper section of the light socket onto the base section. Screw in a light bulb, plug it in and BEHOLD!

This lamp from Anthropologie was the inspiration for Erin's design. She used plates, cups and saucers that she purchased at Anthropologie to make her own unique version of it for me. The teapot was purchased at a garage sale. I treasure this creation.