Sunday Morning Coffee 3

Volume 3

Today I am pleased to share with you Sunday Morning Coffee. This is a place to share, learn, explain, dream, and have fun.

Thanks for joining me for Sunday morning coffee. Today I am sharing my weekly thoughts about entertaining, decor, crafts, and recipes and my slight obsession with a gal named Martha.

A Little Bit About Me

I Think I Might Be Martha’s Biggest Fan

As you already know, I have always loved to decorate and entertain. If you asked my friends to describe me in a few words they would respond with one word.

“Martha”.

In addition to having a nickname “Martha”, I have spent my entire life admiring Martha Stewart. In fact, she is my mentor.

The reason I made Martha my “mentor who doesn’t know she is my mentor” is that she is the person who inspired me to create. And entertain.

I used to sit and read and reread the book, staring at the photos for ideas.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that I am kind of an expert on “things related to Martha” and I actually spent two years of my life answering questions about Martha Stewart.

It was 1994 and Martha Stewart had a best-selling magazine, Martha Stewart Living (1990), a lot of books, and a very popular TV show (1992).

What she didn’t have was a website. It was certainly in the works but it didn’t exist in 1994.

Without a cell phone and social media, I spent all of my free time reading my Martha Stewart magazines. Her first magazine was published in the winter of 1990. In 1991, it became a quarterly magazine. Of course, I had a copy of every single one of her magazines.

Somehow I found a blog online called “The Unofficial Martha Stewart Blog”. It was started by a gal in Colorado who was answering questions about Martha Stewart. One night, when I was reading a full page of questions that I knew every answer to, I reached out to volunteer my time to help.

I was hired (for free) immediately. Go figure.

My son Michael was born in 1994 and Matt was one year old and Andrew was two years old. It’s probably not a surprise that the only time I could find to answer blog questions was late at night. It’s funny because I don’t ever remember working on the blog when it was light outside!

For the next two years, I spent my late evenings answering questions like “In which issue can I find the feature on Lustreware?”. I would answer, “February 1995”. Or “Which issue features Martha’s Hawaiian Cocktail Party?”. Of course, the answer was “July/August 1995”.

In 1997 Martha Stewart sold housewares at K-Mart and I used to drive across town every week just to see the new merchandise. I remember being embarrassed at the cashier because I never bought anything other than Martha Stewart products.

I did meet Martha Stewart twice. Both times were at a book signing. I got tickets by purchasing them online. I remember setting two alarms and having three friends try at the same time to get me my tickets.

At one of the book signings I shared my story with Martha her about my early Martha Stewart blogging experience. She laughed and thanked me for helping her out.

Basically, I think that means that I kind of worked for Martha Stewart and she was very thankful for my work.

Ok, that is stretching it a bit.

I guess I am sounding a bit obsessed with Martha. But I am!

Her creativity has influenced my blog every month. Here are some of the projects that were inspired by Martha.

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I do get a lot of comments comparing me to Martha Stewart. I want you to know that I treasure each and every one of them. To even be compared to her is such an honor.

If you would like to see the amazing history of Martha Stewart and everything she has done, click here.

My Martha Favorites

My Favorite Martha Book

My Favorite Martha Magazine Covers

Back in the days before you could get everything online, I used to mark my calendar for the day I thought my Martha Stewart Living magazine would arrive. On that day, my boys knew that a home cooked meal was out of the question. Mom was going to enjoy her magazine instead.

My Favorite Martha Stewart Cookbook

My Favorite Martha Recipe

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Around Our Home

In the Dining Room

I love that our dining room looks so festive with all of the pink. And copper.

There is a big change happening next week in our dining room and we are ready!

Can you guess what I am up to?

I promise to keep you updated.

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A Decor Tip

Copper Goes With Every Color

I love copper.

In case you didn’t believe me, look at these photos from my blog posts!

I seem to use copper a lot. I used it in the fall, during the holidays, and in the New Year.

I am guessing copper is here to stay in our home.

Do you have a “metal” like you like? Perhaps gold, silver or bronze?

Have you thought about copper?

There is no doubt that copper looks great with pink. It also looks good with green (especially sage green) and aqua. Which probably means it works with blue and red.

If you want to add a metallic accent to your home, start out with a few accessories.

Here are my favorites.

Ready to add some copper accents to your home? Here are some of my favorite copper items that I purchased from Amazon.

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In the Craft Room

I went a bit crazy this week in my craft room and shared four crafts on my blog! I will share them in a bit but until then, here are some amazing fun craft ideas that I found this week.

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Reflections on the Week

It felt good to get back to regular blogging this week. I was in a very crafty mood (which was awesome) and made a pink and white floral crate, a wreath for our front door, rose gold leaf candlesticks, and colored glass bottles for our living room.

Here are my blog posts from last week.

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My Favorite Things

You have no idea how hard it is for me to narrow down all of the things that I love. But I am going to try! Every week I will share a few of the things I have found that I think you might love too.

If you want to spruce up your living room, you might enjoy Free Designer Living Room Decorating Hacks.

Here are Some Instagram Accounts You Might Want to Check Out

• Kari from House of Keene
• Toni at Toni Marianna
• Kelly at City Girl Meets Farmboy
• Amy at Cuter Tudor

One Healthy Habit

Many of you were very enthusiastic about my story last Sunday about my new healthy eating habits. I don’t think you need to go gluten-free, dairy-free, and meat-free at once.

Rather, why not try one healthy habit a week? I will share one of my healthy habits every week and you can try it or not. It’s up to you,

Let’s start with the item I fought and fought not to change. For ever.

My coffee creamer.

It’s a long story, but in a nutshell, I do not like black coffee. I love coffee but I really like it with flavored cream. I tried every possible healthy flavored creamer but the ones without sugar, were terrible. And then my awesome doctor suggested I try Laird’s Superfood Creamer. It contains Coconut Milk Powder, Aquamin (calcium from marine algea), and Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil.

Based on the ingredient list, it sounded disgusting. But guess what?

I love it.

You just need this battery operated amazing frother to make sure it’s not lumpy in your coffee.

Once step at a time, right?

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Things I Love for Under $25

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Good Things from Martha

Yep, each week I will feature one of the gazillion Good Things tips that Martha Stewart has shared with all of us over the years.

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What’s Ahead

Next week is all about organization and I am joining the most talented blogger ever and my dear friend Karianne Wood from Thistlewood. We will be sharing five days of organizing rooms and tomorrow we start with our kitchens!

You might be pleased to know that my definition of organization includes both Function and Fashion. So plan to see some smart organization and some fun new decor changes in every room!

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