There's Buzz About Bees This Spring

The hum and thrum of insect wings is not reserved for the outdoors, apparently. One of this year's biggest trends in spring fashion and beauty is the humble but mighty bumblebee. This was not so much a proclamation by some style czar, as it was an observation on my part while getting our beautiful Anthropologie store in Toronto ready for spring: bees, bees everywhere! I've selected a few bee-autiful things from our store for your perusal.

Clockwise from top left: The Twill Honeybee Blazer; thanks to the late Ms. Winehouse, beehive hairdos are back; Honeyed Life Shirtdress; Honeybee Cargo Shorts; yummy honey treats. 

A closer look at some of the bee details. Click to enlarge.

One of my favourite brands that we carry at Anthropologie is Blithe and Bonny, a homegrown line of scented soaps and candles created by a couple from Bonny Doon, California. They make delicately scented soaps, creams and candles that forego chemicals in favour of natural ingredients. Shown above: hand and body lotion in lavender, natural and biodegradable dish soap in lavender, lavender hand and body soap, lavender and honey-almond candles using soy wax, natural scents and a lead-free wick for 40 hours of clean burning loveliness.

These all-natural, handmade beeswax candles by Pollen Arts were formed into the shapes of nostalgic jars. They are made of pure beeswax and burn clean with the very delicate scent of honey and nectar.

The Natural World dessert plates were designed exclusively for Anthropologie by artist Lou Rota and come in four different colours and patterns, including bumblebee (shown above) chameleon, hummingbird and beetle. I love the vintage-inspired curves and the bright colours of these plates. I have all four!

Post-Script: Our fascination with honeybee culture dates back centuries. Not only are we smitten by the insect's lucrative crop of honey but we are also taken by its symbol of strength. We find comfort and kinship in the honeybee social hierarchy because it has similarities to our own: a community of workers with a common goal in mind. The use of bee imagery has been prolific throughout history, used by many ancient civilizations as a symbol of matriarchy, fertility and labour. Even Martha has used the image and ethos of the honeybee with her Martha By Mail logo. Let's hear it for bees! 

Martha's Accordion Files for Tax Forms

This weekend is tax weekend at the Ritchie-Rosado household. We have our tax software (Turbo Tax) to file online and all of the documentation we need is in order. What is not in order, however, is the large, dilapidated, ripped and torn folder where we've been keeping our tax returns from previous years, inside a little filing cabinet in our closet. It is time for an upgrade! How perfect, then, that a new line of home office goods by Martha Stewart and Avery was issued this year at Staples. (Guess who's going on a field trip there later this week...)

I will certainly be getting two of these accordion files for keeping our taxes organized: Tomas will be white and I will be blue. It will be very nice to simply reach for this one folder each year, knowing everything we need for tax filing is stored inside. The accordion files are freestanding for easy filing, expandable and collapsible with an elastic fabric-band closure. They come in three colours (white, blue and brown) in one of two finishes: shagreen or poly. 

Sizes:

-Shagreen: 13" L x 10" H x 1-1/2" D, 9 Tabs, 10 Pockets

-Poly (large): 13" L x 9-1/2" H x 1-1/2" D, 12 Tabs, 13 Pockets

-Poly (medium): 7-1/4" L x 4-3/4" H x 1" D, 7 Tabs, 8 Pockets

I'll also be picking up some folder labels for colour-coding the files. We all have to do our taxes; may as well make the process pretty! Investing in a shredder is also a good idea. Shredding documents that you no longer need is always a good idea, especially if they contain personal information, such as your address or account numbers.  See more of Martha's line at Staples here.

Looking Back to Move Forward: Vols. 1 and 2

In her letter to readers in the March issue of the magazine, Martha Stewart Living editor-in-chief Pilar Guzman makes an intriguing comment about looking back to former issues of the magazine in order to move forward. She writes: "...we will feature images on this page that inspire us from the magazine's archives. Sometimes it's important to look back in order to move forward." With this aim in mind, the editor's letter showcases photographs by Christopher Baker from the March, 1997, issue and the first colour glossary (chartreuse) of plants that debuted in that year's gardening issue. Pilar says that readers were smitten by the elegant styling and compositions. I was one of them!

My favourite issues of all time were released somewhere between 1995 and 2007. That's not to say that the current issues of Martha Stewart Living have been substandard. They are just different, keeping pace with a growing number of competitors, changing tastes and an evolving culture of lifestyle content. For Martha Stewart Living to have remained locked in its yesteryear mandates would have been a grievous mistake. The editors have taken the magazine to a new space and have recruited new readers by doing so. But I wholeheartedly welcome Pilar's desire to reflect a little on the principles and ideals that first made Martha Stewart Living the leader in its class. 

As a longtime reader, I feel like playing along in this game of look-back-move-forward! So, I'll be raiding the archives each month and will feature my favourite issue of the magazine belonging to the month in question; my favourite March issue will be shown in March, for example. To begin (and to catch up) I've selected my favourite January issue of all time and my favourite February issue of all time. I've also made a few notes about why I love them so much. Feel free to tell me your favourites!

MY FAVOURITE JANUARY ISSUE: 2002
This is one issue that I return to time and again, primarily for its emphasis on celebrations, from birthdays to anniversaries. Contained in its pages are timeless ideas and traditions with recipes and entertaining ideas to support them: delicious birthday cakes, crafting party hats, an anthology of anniversary traditions, vintage birthday cards and seasonal Good Things for crafting, homekeeping and giving. It also contains my favourite craft of all time: Yarn Cards!! What makes it successful is that it is guided by a central theme (celebrating) that helps plan a year of celebrations and special occasions ahead. If I don't use an idea this year, I return the next year to suss it out. The theme is not cumbersome and overplayed, either. It is buoyed by ideas that can be used repeatedly in fresh and inventive ways. The photographs are engaging and lively, with a subtle pale blue palette threading the editorial content. There are people shown in the images and a bright sense of levity shines throughout. A perfect winter read.

MY FAVOURITE FEBRUARY ISSUE: 1999
I love Valentine's Day as much as the next person: any excuse for chocolate and flowers! But it is telling that my favourite February issue of all time did not flaunt the lovey-dovey holiday. Here is an example of an issue that is guided by a theme much more cerebral than any heart-shaped craft. In a word, the issue is warm. Brash pinks and reds are shelved in favour of cozy brown tones that glow from page to page: honey-coloured homeyness that inspires the reader to embrace the indoors and celebrate the intimacy of an afternoon baking in the kitchen or taking stock of a treasured collection. Valentine's Day is here, too, in beautiful crafts and floral arrangements, but the issue doesn't pander to the commerce of it all. If it's love you seek, look no further than the inspired people behind the making of this volume who clearly poured all of their hearts into this issue: the finest tribute to midwinter I have ever seen published.

A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned

How many among you actually save your pennies? How about your silver change? I am not generally a big fan of small change. I have learned from experience, however, that saving pennies and silver can yield some very nice rewards. Inspired by the Everyday Food budget issue (see the post below) I thought I'd review just a few simple steps that I do each day to keep my change in check.

1. Keep It
The first step, obviously, is simply hanging on to the pennies and silver that is given out as change. There was a time when I used to tell cashiers to "keep the change" if it was less than a dollar. I would sometimes leave it on a park bench or toss it into a fountain with a hopeful wish: anything just to get rid of it. These days I keep all of my change. I have a zippered section in my satchel that is devoted exclusively to keeping coins. No matter how wealthy you may be, give your change the respect it deserves and hold on to it. It has value!

2. Sort It

When I arrive home each evening, I empty my satchel. I keep only a few essential items in it to begin with, so it's no trouble. (This is a great way to stay organized and remove anything that doesn't belong in your bag.) I remove all of the change from the zipper compartment and begin to sort it. Once a sorting system is place, it usually takes less than a minute to do this. Big change like two-dollar coins, one-dollar coins and quarters are put to good use for laundry, tips and quick runs to the convenience store. (In Canada, there is more change than in many other countries since our one-dollar and two-dollar currency come in the form of coins.) Dimes, nickels and pennies are relegated to two containers I keep in my pantry: one for pennies and one for silver.

3. Store It
Having a place to keep the change is essential to this routine. My system, described above, has a purpose behind it: large coins for daily expenditures, small coins for saving. I keep the larger coins in a silver cup on the mantel. The pennies are kept in a ceramic flower pot and the silver is kept in a large glass jar. These were just vessels I had on hand, but any container will do. The silver cup is nice enough to keep out and within easy reach. The containers holding the pennies, nickels and dimes are accessible for daily contributions to the pot but are kept out of sight.

4. Count It
Once a year, I count it all. This usually happens in the summer. I prefer to count it out by hand (call me draconian) but digital, electronic and manual coin sorters and counters are also sold in many home-office supply stores. They range in price from $20 for a manual sorter to over $250 for a professional digital sorter and counter. There are also kiosks in some grocery stores where you can take your change to have it sorted simply by dumping it all into the machine. It calculates the amount and gives you paper money in exchange. Or, simply take it to the bank in paper rolls and deposit it into your account or cash it through a teller.

5. Enjoy It

Last year I counted $98.27 in pennies, nickels and dimes. That is money that might otherwise have been lost in car seats, on sidewalks or in pant pockets if it had been treated carelessly. You could put it into your savings account, donate it to your favourite cause or spend it on something special. I used the money to take my special someone out to dinner at our favourite restaurant. I still have a few months before I count it all, but I'm curious to see how much I have saved this year!

Old-School Lessons: Eating Great, On The Cheap

The editors of Everyday Food magazine have put together a great issue devoted to smart savings at the grocery store. What they have also done, wittingly or not, is given modern-day credence to some time-tested philosophies that have proven successful to generations past. I outline a few of them below.

I'll never forget how thrifty my grandmother was at the grocery store, a characteristic she no doubt learned from her mother in wartime England. (When you survive financial hardship, it's hard to be lax about money.) She would not only clip coupons and watch for weekly savings in the flyers, she would also calculate, almost to the cent, how much she would spend each week on meals. The March issue of Everyday Food is the perfect refresher course on how to eat great food without breaking the bank. While the issue is packed with money-saving tips and ideas, I've selected four 'financial lessons' that really ought to be kept in mind when it comes to meal planning. 

1. Think you can plan five weeknight dinners on just $50? I didn't either until I read this article. The editors broke out their calculators and came up with five really good dinner menus that do not sacrifice taste, nutrition or facility. They also provide a carefully planned grocery list to help it all come together. Among the savory selections: vegetable frittata with roasted potatoes and garlic, creamy pasta shells with tuna and spinach and chili-braised pork with green beans and mashed sweet potatoes. It can be done, folks!

2. Buy seasonal fruits and vegetables and look for those that are among the most inexpensive. Bananas cost just pennies a pound and their sweet flavour goes a long way to enhance desserts. They are also great additions to cereal and yogurt and are sometimes the perfect snack on their own. The editors showcase this humble and versatile tropical fruit in a myriad of delicious desserts, from ice creams to cakes to tarts.

3. Another old-fashioned idea that makes good financial sense: gather friends and family and eat in large groups, with each participant contributing something to the table. The modern-day term is 'pot-luck' but it's an idea that dates back centuries. Not only is it a great way to eat wonderful food and catch up with loved-ones, sharing also reduces your spending. Make it a part of your regular routine.

4. Slow cookers are ideal for budget cooking since you can make large batches of one dish (storing plenty of left-overs in the freezer) with just a few well-chosen ingredients. Even better: the work is done for you with just the push of a button!

More saving tips from the issue: 

a) Before a big grocery shop, check your supermarket's circulars (many of them are posted online) and plan your meals around the biggest bargains. 

b) The age-old advice still holds true: don't shop when you're hungry! You will end up piling on things you are craving at the moment but did not plan to buy. Make a list first and stick to it.

c) Packaged and convenience products are often more expensive than fresh or whole foods. Select one or two favourites and make sure they are worth it to you in time savings. 

d) Use bulk bins to your advantage. Items like grains, beans, nuts and baking ingredients can be measured out so that you are buying only what you need to buy.  

Excellent Entryways

I don't know about you, but I always get a mid-winter 'urge to purge' in anticipation of Spring's arrival. The winter months are the perfect time to focus on getting your indoor spaces organized and functional, especially your entryways - the busiest part of the home with the heaviest (and dirtiest) traffic. Getting this area organized now will allow you to be fully prepared for all the activity and commotion the new season will throw your way. You'll also have plenty of time to enjoy that warm and sunny weather, not having to worry too much about keeping things in order, once a good system is in place. I've compiled some of my favourite entryway solutions from the pages of Martha Stewart Living, many of which I have adapted to my own very small (but very efficient) entryway. 

This is my all-time favourite entryway design. It is so me! A bench is such a nice addition to an entryway. It allows for seating as you put on or remove your shoes and is inviting to visitors. The bulletin board above is a virtual 'home base' for planning: schedules, notices, reminders, incoming and outgoing mail are all kept here. It's a one-stop spot for the organization of your day. I like the slate board for erasable chalk messages and the little clock. Best of all, you can hide it all behind an opaque roll-down blind in a coordinating colour that you can lift and lower as you please.  

This entrance in a mudroom or back entrance is nicely appointed with a bench, a stepping stool, baskets for storage, a boot tray and an open coat rack under a pretty, bracketed shelf. It is bright and inviting. Everything you need is visible and at the ready. (Everything you don't need is gone!)

A combination of shelves, hooks and bins ensures this entrance is kept running smoothly. Hanging "in" and "out" baskets are mounted onto wall hooks to corral mail, magazines and newspapers. Sturdy, galvanized boxes on casters slide easily under the bench and coat hooks keep everyone's outerwear in place. What is nice about this station is the colour. A strategic application of paint gives the whole area the appearance that it is a built-in unit. The bench, shelf and wall are all painted the same unifying colour. 

A bench on casters provides simple seating and storage. On the wall above an array of hooks was hung in a free-form pattern to provide a place for hanging coats, hats and bags. The wallpaper is both functional and visually energizing: you can easily wipe it if it becomes marred and it provides an enlivening mood-boost to visitors who enter the space.

This is such a great entryway: one of my favourites. It has charm and function to spare. An old bench plays centerpiece to the space. It features a lower shelf for a shoe tray to keep worn shoes off the floor. A basket proffers slippers to visitors and a thick sisal rug keeps the hardwood protected. On the wall, hooks have been installed to keep everything in place, from umbrellas to purses. A wooden mantel, backed by an appealing strip of wallpaper, allows for the display of personal mementos and photographs. Never forget to splash a bit of charm in an entryway! It will lift your mood when you enter the home and will be inviting to visitors.

I love this storage unit built into a nook of an entrance. The cubbies provide storage areas for each member of the family. There is a section for each person's coat and hat topped by a smaller cubby for that individual's accessories, such as baseball mitts, soccer balls and cameras. A bench allows for seating and easy shoe removal and three large drawers hold seasonal items. A wall-mounted key corral keeps keys in place while a hook keeps dog leashes from becoming tangled. 

ENTRYWAY MUST-HAVE: The boot tray is a "Good Thing" I have loved since its debut in the magazine in the mid-1990s. It is essentially a tray with a very high lip where you can place your wet and muddy boots when you enter the house. Many retailers sell these in various materials, from stainless steel to rubber. Williams Sonoma sold one a while back, as did Smith and Hawken's. Home Depot and other hardware stores sell them. Or, you can convert old cookie sheets and baking trays into boot trays, layering them with pebbles to allow the dirt and water to filter away from the boots so that they are not standing in a pool of melted muck. 

I hope you've found these ideas helpful and inspiring. I turn to them again and again for inspiration and guidance. A new camera is on the way and by next week I hope to share some of my own photographs of my home, my projects and my favourite things. My current camera, after 6 years of very good service, just isn't doing the trick anymore. So, stay tuned!

A Cornucopia of Valentine's Day Ideas

Quite simply, there really is only one source for the best Valentine's Day ideas: Martha Stewart Living. Okay, I'm a bit (a lot) biased, but don't you think it's true? I honestly can't think of any other outlet that provides readers and viewers with such an array of creative concepts for this special holiday. From crafts to treats to flowers, Martha Stewart gives us endless inspiration and instruction on how to create something special for our loved ones.  Click here to get started on some last-minute ideas. 

A Successful (and fun!) Trip

When my friend Cindy and I planned a little excursion to Buffalo, the closest U.S. city to Toronto, we had our destination firmly in mind: Walden Galleria. We had heard from friends that it was a great mall with a lot of stores and restaurants we do not yet have in Canada. We started with lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, a really delicious restaurant that is as American as it gets. 

We wanted to visit the new Anthropologie store that opened there a few months ago, as well as the new Free People store (a division of the Anthropologie brand that skews a bit younger than Anthropologie's demographic) and, of course, Macy's! Since we took the bus and did not have a vehicle with us, we could not overdo it with our spending. Without a trunk to stow our merchandise in, we had to carry it all by hand. This was wise, because, believe me, we were tempted to break the bank! I had a budget of $250, not including meals. I went slightly over, but that's okay. More than half was spent on clothing (I'm a sucker for J. Crew) and the rest was spent at Macy's. Speficially, on Martha at Macy's. I got a couple of the things on my list, which I blogged about a couple of days ago. (See the following post.)  You can see my latest Marthaware, below.

I got this set of five ceramic mixing bowls from the Martha Stewart Collection. I think they are so beautiful and modern. I love the pops of colour and they are very heavy, sturdy and well made.

I also got sets of Martha Stewart Collection measuring cups and measuring spoons. They are really heavy (a sign of good quality) and have comfortable handles. Not shown is a novelty item I could not pass up: a child's wooden rolling pin with the Martha Stewart logo around the side. I'm saving it for posterity. (It didn't photograph well.)

Guess Who's Going to Macy's

This Friday I will be venturing south of the border with a friend of mine to the great Walden Galleria in the city of Buffalo, New York, where there is a lovely Macy's department store. Living in Canada, and therefore being deprived of some pretty fantastic US stores, including Macy's, this is a big treat. I really don't know why we don't have Macy's in Canada. I'm sure it has something to do with NAFTA and the competition bureau, but so be it. We Canadians will make the trip - especially with our dollar doing as well as it is. A Martha Moments reader, Trellis Smith, sent me this terrific Macy's ad featuring Martha. I was so impressed by Martha's magic (and her legs) that I decided to let you in on some of the things I'll be looking for at Macy's this Friday.

My favourite class of merchandise from the Martha Stewart Collection is the kitchenware. I love the styles and varieties available - and I especially love the use of colour. My preference in the kitchen is for neutral and light colours with pattern kept to a bare minimum. What the Martha Stewart Collection has always done is to use colour in bold but small doses, which lends to the modern impact of the design. 

I love this set of five ceramic mixing bowls that are white on the exteriors and painted beautiful shades of primary colours on the interiors. The nesting design helps with efficient storage.

I love, love, love these food storage containers that are based on a vintage design. Each tin canister holds up to 16 cups of ingredients.

This 9-piece cutlery set has all the essentials a chef needs to slice and dice. Each tool has a soft, ergonomically-designed handle in retro shades and a precision blade. The honing steel and kitchen shears are nice additions.

I like the idea of keeping all your measuring cups and spoons together on a single ring when you store them. These ones are stainless steel with extra-long handles for reaching into canisters and jars. When you use them, you can remove them from the ring and get to work.

The March Issue

The March, 2012, issue of Martha Stewart Living will be arriving in subscribers' mailboxes over the next few days. The March issue, which is the annual gardening issue, promises to fill our heads with all sorts of green grandiosity. The iPad edition is currently available for download. Martha looks lovely on the cover, photographed in the garden at Lotusland in California, surrounded by giant agaves. 

David's Martha By Mail Cookie Cutter Sets

When I started this blog, it was one of my hopes that it would bring together a group of like-minded people with a shared interest in all things Martha. I had no idea I would be corresponding today with dozens of people from around the world, many of whom write to me with questions - and in some cases answers! - regarding Martha's ventures and wares. 

When it comes to answers regarding Martha by Mail, my go-to source is David Pantoja of Philadelphia. A longtime Martha Stewart collector and reader of this blog, David quickly became a friend of mine. I was really touched to learn that his blog, Good Things By David, was inspired by Martha Moments. (He even wrote a very nice post about Martha Moments that I was very touched by.)

Good Things By David is a beautiful showcase of his talent; David is a wonderful cook and baker and is very interested in homekeeping. In fact, he is part of a growing number of male homemakers and has given himself the title of CEO at Home. I love it! David and his partner live in a beautiful historic home in rural Philadelphia that David tends to with love and care each day. I urge you to visit his blog to discover not only his vast collection of Martha by Mail collectibles, but also his wonderful culinary creations and homekeeping tips.

David made good use of Martha's mail-order catalog when it was still functioning in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His collection is quite extensive and impressive. He has all of the cookie-cutter sets, many of the mixing bowls and cake stands, the much-coveted Turkey Hill spice rack and spice canisters and various plates and platters with the Martha by Mail imprint. 

I asked David if he would send me photos of some of his cookie-cutter collection for my archives here, since they are the most highly-prized and most sought-after collectibles from the Martha by Mail catalog. He happily obliged. Below are some examples of his sets. 

This photo includes the Alphabet Cookie Cutters, which were very popular, Halloween Marshmallow Cutters, Beautiful Bug Cookie Cutters, Victorian Ornament Cookie Cutters, Evergreen Cookie Cutters and Canape Leaf Cutters.

Many of the early sets of cookie cutters were embossed with the Martha By Mail logo.

The cookies themselves look beautiful once they are baked and decorated.

All of the Martha By Mail cookie cutters were made of copper. These ones, shown above, are oversized and were sold in pairs and had holiday themes: Prancing Reindeer & Snowflake; Candy Cane & Snowman, Hatching Bunny & Hen, Gingerbread House & Christmas Tree, Mouse King & Nutcracker, Star & Moon. 

The Star & Moon was the first cookie-cutter set to be sold through Martha By Mail.

The Hatching Bunny & Hen set is David's favourite from the oversized holiday pairs.

The oversized cutters in this photo, and the one below, include: Papillon and Sunflower, Great Owl and Belfry Bat, Mighty Acorn and Sugar Squirrel, Seahorse and Nautilus, Chubby Pumpkin and Tom Turkey. This is David's favourite set. They are extremely valuable and almost never become available for resale.

These cookie cutters are extremely large.

The acorn and the squirrel cookies look beautiful when they're fully decorated, as shown in the Martha By Mail instruction booklet that accompanied the set.

There were three sets in the Noah's Arc series of cookie cutters, which is by far the most popular and well-known series from the Martha By Mail collection. Each set contained nine copper cookie cutters. Shown above is David's complete menagerie.

When the sets arrived in the mail they came in a house-shaped box filled with paper straw.

The third set of Noah's Arc Cookie Cutters came with a plastic arc template to create the ship itself.

The templates that came inside each box reveal the cutter shapes in silhouette. The complete Noah's Arc, with animals from all three sets, would include: hawk, giraffe, alligator, bear, donkey, sheep, kangaroo, elephant, lion, snake, ostrich, tiger, hippo, rhino, seal, penguin, moose, camel, owl, lama, turtle, skunk, platapus, monkey, peacock, buffalo and gazelle.