Wherever you are celebrating this wonderful holiday, I wish you and your families a peaceful and happy Christmas.
The gifts have been opened, the wonderful meals cooked and consumed and most of us have flopped down onto the sofa with a cup of tea, a mince pie and a Christmas movie on the TV…or is that just me?
I found this extraordinary image recently while reading Martha Stewart’s blogs…this image is in fact from Kevin Sharkey’s blog, Home Design.
His blog is a great read, with ideas and tips on every page…he is the Senior Vice President and Executive Editorial Director, Decorating, and Executive Creative Director, Merchandising for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc (MSLO).(quite a mouthfull) and he shares his step by step renovations to his apartment on his blog. He is as exacting as Martha is and it is fascinating to read how he created his beautiful home.
Back to the food….I love the colour, the textures and particularly the rustic quality of the whole arrangement .I am thinking a lot about food preparation and presentation at the moment, with Christmas right around the corner….In a climate which is not at all cold or wintery, this type of feast would be ideal for Christmas and especially great if one were feeding a lot of people….
We have ordered our ham but I am thinking about also doing a small turkey….after all, one thing I love about Christmas….the left-overs!!We are spending Christmas Eve with friends and she has ordered a 10kg turkey with all the trimmings. In Dubai, the custom is to order a huge turkey from one of the numerous 5 star hotels…they do all the hard work and you collect the turkey cooked, along with roast potatoes, roast parsnips, gravy and sometimes sausages wrapped in bacon! No hostess has to work her fingers to the bone and get frazzled!! Its great..unless you really enjoy cooking your turkey!
I’ve never actually cooked a turkey so it might be a total disaster, but if I do decide to cook one, I will follow Martha’s instructions to the letter and hope for the best!!
To my American friends and readers..wishing you all a Happy 4th July….aside from the historical significance if this holiday, I think it is such a wonderfully colourful celebration, with such great , classic colours!
Happy Halloween to all!
While a lot of people in the US will unfortunately not be able to celebrate due to the aftermath of “Sandy” , there will be a lot of very excited children trick or treating here tonight and I’m sure many more frustrated parents trying very hard to get them down from a major sugar high from too much candy!
The queen of domestic style,Martha Stewart, always does Halloween in the most tasteful yet imaginative way so I leave you with a few inspirational images …..
Who says Halloween has to be all about orange pumpkins? I LOVE the teal blue as an alternative teamed with black!
Today is a day celebrating women…all over the world. I thought I would like to mark the day by sharing a few of the women who inspire me.
First and foremost Oprah. She is such an inspiration to me…her positive attitude , generous spirit, her intelligence and her strength…she embodies all the qualities I aspire to ……she has touched the lives of millions of women (and men) all over the world and strives to conduct her life with integrity and courage. With her “Live your best life”program, she has turned around the lives of men and women and made us all face our issues and deal with them….
Another high profile woman who is truly an inspiration to me is Martha Stewart. Her phrase “I’ts a good thing” has touched millions of households,and through her books and television shows, she has been educating us on how to do things better and more beautifully….her tireless energy and pursuit of perfection in everything she does, make her an inspiration to me and many others. I think that her determination not to allow her financial woes (and jail time!) to get her down, showed incredible spirit and strength and just browsing her website and looking at her wonderful farm and behind the scenes of her life gives you an idea of just how disciplined she is, and how well she runs her empire she has built.
There are some amazing designers who inspire us all……Mary MacDonald, Kelly Hoppen, Kelly Wearstler….I thought about what all these women had in common…aside from the fact that they are successful business women in an extremely competitive industry…they are all strong, independent women who have worked extremely hard at their craft and who continue to do so on a daily basis. They are innovative and creative and are constantly evolving to adapt to the ever changing business environment.
On a more personal level, I am inspired by my mother ,who decided at the age of 65 to move to a new country and start a completely new life …on her own, my younger sister who is a very busy stay at home mum (seriously the hardest and most demanding job in the world) , my other sister who is forging an amazing career in the learning an development industry, my cousin who is a working mum dealing with the very real stress of having to balance work and mom duties! I am constantly in awe of my friends who do this…I cannot imagine how on earth they manage it! It is hard enough taking care of myself and my business, never mind a family too! My friends and family who are single mothers….how tough must that be and yet somehow they manage it with grace and humour!
To all women….on this day of worldwide recognition, let us embrace our uniqueness,femininity and strength…
Happy Womens’ Day.
A Decorator's Notebook 