I don’t know what’s happening here. But I like it.
It begs for a caption. Any ideas? Here, I’ll start:
“Martha, this is what I call doggie style.”
OK your turn.
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Tags: Martha, Snoop, Snoop Dogg, stewart
Who you may ask? Martha Stewart of course. Jeff and Willie were watching TV over the weekend while I was barefoot and in the kitchen slaving over dinner (taking the delivery pizza out of the box) when I heard a PetSmart commercial come on. It’s sad that I know the familiar jingle that plays during that commercial, specifically because Willie gets so freaking excited when it comes on. Anyway, I returned to my tedious task of studying our medium sized pepperoni pizza and deciding which four slices were the biggest so I could give them to Jeff, leaving me with the smaller 4 pieces so I could reassure myself that I really didn’t eat half of the pizza, when I hear Jeff exclaim, “OH MY GOD.”
Thinking Willie had gotten stuck in the bathtub again, or under the TV console, or pooped somewhere, I came out of the kitchen ready to assist with the doggy problem only to find both of my guys still lounging on the couch: the furry one curled up on a pillow enjoying a pig ear (ew, see previous post), and the hubsters staring at the TV looking slightly annoyed. I turned my attention to the screen and that’s when I saw her. Martha, in all of her crafty-glory, delicately arranging plush looking doggy beds on PetSmart shelves, and intricately hanging adorable patterned leash/collar sets along the aisles. Martha Stewart Pets has officially launched.
I gazed over at my swine ear eating puppy, and Jeff reluctantly looked up at me knowing exactly what was going through my head. He’d seen that look on my face before. That look right before Martha somehow takes over another part of our lives. First, it was our wedding. Then, our kitchen. Our bedroom fell victim to her shortly there after. And now, poor Willie has no idea what he may be getting into.
Christmas has indeed come early for the little guy 
Tags: Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Pets, PetSmart, Willie
Jeff and I spent the past weekend painting our apartment. We I was so excited to finally be able to start making this place all homey! We’re slowly tackling each room bit by bit and it’s really starting to come together. My big project for the weekend: The Kitchen. We have a pretty plain, white kitchen with nothing too extraordinary about it. See below.
See what I mean? A pretty standard, NYC apartment kitchen. So, of course I was dying to do something fun with it. My wheels started turning in my head and they immediately landed on an idea to paint the far wall with black chalkboard paint. I’ve ALWAYS wanted to use chalkboard paint somewhere and by golly, I finally figured out a way to convince the hubsters to buy me some So, off we skipped hand in hand went to the paint store, picked up a 1/2 gallon of my paint, bought some chalk and then I set to work!
Voila!
But then there was the task of figuring out what the heck I was going to draw on this chalkboard wall. I had all these big ideas of what to draw and how I was going to theme it, but then I realized that I’m not exactly as talented as my sister and I ended up searching “chalk drawings” on Google Images for design inspiration. What resulted was a free hand interpretation of one of those stick on wall murals you see at Target. So, here ya have it! It’s not perfect, but I’m pretty happy with it
Inspiration
My New Kitchen!
I think Martha would be proud
Tags: Apartment, Chalkboard Paint, kitchen, Martha Stewart, painting
One of my biggest rules in life that I strive to stick to is to always have fresh flowers in my apartment. How Martha Stewart of me, right? It’s amazing what a little vase of flowers on your windowsill can do to brighten your day. Not to mention they make a room smell fabulous. One of my favorite things about living in New York City are the flower markets that line streets in my neighborhood. It’s always nice to, sorry for the cliche, stop and smell the roses on my way home. These markets always have such fresh flowers and you just can’t beat the prices.
My favorite market to frequent is on 52nd and 9th. They have so many flowers and they change their selection weekly. Every two weeks or so I make it a point to pay a visit to my favorite flower market. The guy who works there knows me by now, and usually expects me. Sometimes, when it’s really cold, I stop to get my favorite Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and I pick up a hot chocolate for the flower salesman. Hey, it never really gets above 35 degrees here and he stands outside all day. Brrr. What’s an extra $1.50 every 2 weeks? And he’s always very nice to me. The flowers are already extremely well priced. $10.00 for 2 dozen roses? Yes, please! And today, he was extra nice and threw in an extra 2 dozen roses for $5.00. 48 roses for $15.00? A steal! It sounds like an overkill of flowers, but they all found a perfect place to live in my apartment.
I'm definitely not a great flower arranger, but it works for me
Now for my Martha Stewart moment of the day. Back when I was a freshman in college, I was invited to be a debutante. I know, I know, try not to hurl. There is a point to this story. During the debutante season, we attended various parties leading up to our ball. One of my favorite parties during the season was a garden party. We went to a local flower nursery and learned all about how to properly pick out flowers and how to care for them. It was at this party that I adopted my rule of keeping fresh flowers around at all times. I really urge you to try it! With the way the world is now, I think it’s so important to cling to the little things in life that make you happy. You don’t need to go to an expensive florist to find your flowers either. Check out some of your local flower markets; you might be surprised what you find. And when you do find those perfect flowers for your home, here are some tips on how to make them last:
1. Fill your flower vases with luke warm water, not cold. The cold water has a tendency to “shock” the flowers and they won’t last as long.
2. When you buy flowers, the salesperson will usually give you flower food. Use it! I can’t stress it enough. It really does keep your flowers going. Use half the packet when you first place them in water. Change the water after a few days and use the rest of the packet of flower food. If you don’t have flower food, place a baby aspirin in the water, it works just as well!
3. Cut the flower stems at an angle when you first place them in water, and again when you change the water. It allows the nutrients to feed the flowers more easily.
Hope my Martha Stewart moment inspired you!
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A: Here’s my interpretation of a “shocked flower.”
“Oh no you didn’t!”
Tags: Flower Market, Martha Stewart
I’m still trying to decide what to be for Halloween. I’m in love with Anna’s Lady Gaga costume and I want to do something that’s just as statement worthy. But what to be? Gone are the days where mom and dad used to dress me up as a duck, or a bumblebee or a kitty cat and parade me up and down the streets to go trick-or-treating. And gone are the days of college where dressing up for Halloween turned into a competition of who could wear the least clothes and look hot. I have zero plans for Halloween this year and no costume to support them, fooey. I must change this stat! In this time of desperation, I must stay calm and just think:
WWMD, WHAT WOULD MARTHA DO?
The Basic Black Cat
1. You naughty girl Martha in your kitty cat costume. Sorry to say that I was a cat multiple times when I was little and I think it’s been played out. What else you got?
A: When did you go as a kitty? I went as a kitty like 4 times in a row. I think Mom got so bored with me wanting to be a kitty every year the last year I was a “Ballerina Kitty.”
Fresh off the Beach!
2. Surf’s up dude! As much fun as you look like your having, Marth, I think I’ll pass up the chance to look like a beached whale on Halloween. Next!
A: Did she seriously wear this? It seems so un-Martha like.
3. Here we go, now we’re getting somewhere! The Morticia and the Aphrodite, very clever Martha, very clever. And way to rock out the KISS wig and makeup on the left.
Ironic on so many levels...
4. Medusa. Really Martha, Medusa? Are you just trying to connect the dots for people? You are the Anna Wintour of your industry; so perhaps try to soften your image a bit more. I’m getting no halloween costume inspiration here, any more ideas?
What the $%&#?
5. Creepy Martha, just creepy. I don’t even know what this is.
Well, it looks like it’s back to the drawing board for me. Maybe I’ll just throw a sheet over my head, cut some holes out and be a ghost. Stay tuned though, I may have to enlist the help of you, dear readers, to pick out my perfect halloween costume. There might just be a giveaway involved!
A: I’ll try to think of a costume for you. Randy needs one too and I got nothin.
Tags: costume, Halloween, Martha Stewart
Stay tuned because Anna has an adorable Halloween themed post lined up for you tomorrow all about Amy Atlas and her fabulousness, so I thought I would throw my 2 cents in and do a little introduction about Amy. If you haven’t checked out her website yet, please do so. She does fabulous work and is best known for her drop dead gorgeous candy table displays. She’s been featured in numerous editorial features and she’s one of the hottest industry leaders in weddings today. Every table she creates is one of a kind, tailored to a specific color palette and theme and the candy and other baked goodies are just to die for! I would have killed to have one of her displays at my wedding, but I would have probably gone broke if I had made it happen, haha. Check it out:
I actually had the chance to meet Amy Atlas last night at the Martha Stewart Wedding 15th Anniversary party at the Plaza Hotel. She is just great! Obviously talented, but nice and down to earth to boot. She’s so normal, and there’s something so peaceful and organic, (do I sound like a crazy New Yorker already?) about watching her work. She’s very precise, very particular about the placement of EVERYTHING. But, naturally, that’s what it takes to create perfection. Yes, I know, nothing’s perfect, but I would say Amy Atlas’s works of art are about as close to perfect as one can get. The table she designed for the Martha party was pink and gold themed to match the party motif and she had an assortment of light pink M&M’s, bite sized cupcakes that gave me a stomach ache because I ate too many, baby pink rock candy, mini macaroons and all sorts of color coordinated petit fors.
Setting up the cuteness!
The finished product!
Sorry for the crappy pictures, I wasn’t able to get a picture of the table in all it’s glory since there were 1000 people there. I had to snap a few quick ones and run! Below are some more gems from the evening, everything was just beautiful! Make sure to check out Anna’s post tomorrow on more Amy Atlas eye candy
The front entryway in the Terrace Room
The cute buttons handed out to guests as they arrived!
They said quirky little things like "Don't Elope!" and "Wedding Band Groupie"
The Party!
Sorry for the bad pictures all around. I helped set everything up, but never really got to see the finished product since I was working most of the night, but I tried my best!
A: Found some more pictures of the event on Amy’s blog that are really good. Here are a few:
Tags: Amy Atlas, Candy Table, Martha Stewart
Mmmm…give me some brisk fall weather, a front porch like this and come apple cider and I’m a happy girl!
PUNKINS!!!!!!! Everybody loves pumpkins. One of my favorite things to do this time of the year is carve punkins and light them up. I will admit though that my pumpkin carving skills are supported heavily by those carving kits you can get that basically make it possible for a kindergartner to carve an exact replica of the Mona Lisa into their pumpkin…..but whatever. I’m still very proud of my finished product, even if I traced it. Anywho, I’m so looking forward to carving our pumpkins this year, and I’m hoping to drag the hubby to one of the local markets this weekend to pick out the perfect punkin. Jeff’s not really into Halloween, it’s like pulling teeth to get him to even think about dressing up, party pooper. Hopefully I can change that! So, keeping with the Halloween Spirit over here at 2SistersBlog, check out some adorable pumpkin decorating ideas I picked up over at Martha Stewart!
Glitter punkies!!!
1. Glitterfied Pumpkins: I love me some glitter. I’m pretty much like a 2 year old when it comes to shiny things, so I would totally bling out my punkins if I could.
2. Pumpkin Luminaries: A pain in the butt to light every night, but there’s something so fun and beautiful about them right? And you can line your sidewalk with them for trick-or-treaters to walk through!
Caution: Extreme patience required
3. Intricately Detailed Punkins: I think I would end up stabbing my eyes out with my carving knife or throwing my pumpkin out the window if I attempted this. But, very beautiful none the less, Martha.
Wooooo monogram!
4. Personally Monogrammed Punkie: Congratulations, Martha, you have officially made every Southern sorority girls’ dreams come true. A pumpkin monogrammed with my very own initials? Yes please! Paint it pink and slap some polka dots on it and we can call it a day!
I know there’s plenty of you out there who are planning to get crafty with your pumpkin carving! Send us your pictures so we can blog about your creativity
Tags: Halloween, Martha Stewart, Pumpkins
So, basically my life can end happily now. Yes, ladies and gentleman, tonight was the night. Tonight, it happened. What happened you ask? Oh, Jeff and I met Martha Stewart and got a picture with her: TADA!
- YES
Weeee! So basically here’s how it went down. I was working the Darcy Miller event tonight and what to my wondering eyes should appear? Oh, just Martha Stewart walking through the front door. Sweet Jesus, hold it together Karen, breathe. So she mingles around the crowd and I get to walk by her numerous times, never once making eye contact because I was terrified and my heart was in my throat. But then my hubby, who was there for our photo shoot (I’ll get to that in a little bit), came up to me, grabbed my hand and told me that this was my chance and he wasn’t going to let me miss it. So we started socializing with a few guests and then before we knew it, Martha had joined our conversation, surprisingly simple. And then it happened. I introduced myself to her and then introduced her to Jeff, (where she then proceeded to tell him that he looked like he was 12 years old, haha). We talked very briefly, because lets face it, I’m nobody important, but she was gracious enough to take a picture with me. Squeee! I was quite star struck, but Jeff said he was very impressed with my assertiveness and how calm I was. So maybe I didn’t make an idiot out of myself?
So, that was most definitely the highlight of my night. But here’s some more info on the night. So basically, there were 2 separate parties throughout the day, and guests simply came by, viewed all of Darcy’s work on display, took part in the portrait session with Donna Newman and Darcy and enjoyed the yummy food. All of the money collected from the portrait sessions was donated to the Pediatric Endocrinology Department at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC, what an awesome cause! The night went so well and there were so many great people helping out to make the event run smoothly. I got to dress up in my pretty wedding gown again and take lots of fun pictures! I saw wedding planner Preston Bailey and I got to meet wedding dress designer Mark Ingram! He actually approached me and asked who designed my wedding gown, (he thought it was by Amsale, I wish!). He thought it was gorgeous and he said I was pretty too So nice! Here’s some pictures from the day:
- The event! If you look closely you can see Darcy Miller talking with guests, she’s the one in black with dark hair.
- One of the display walls of Darcy’s work
- Close up on the shadow boxes she did for her wedding, gorgeous!!! Oh, and PS, her family is gorgeous and her girls are so sweet!
- Personal illustrations Darcy did for the guests
- The designers Badgley and Mischka!
- All of the little favors!
- Cute
- The cute buttons that Darcy designed. Some said, “Favorite Child,” and “Problem Child,” and “Daddy’s Girl.”
- This one was mine
- The behind the scenes work going on at the photo shoot
- Our friends Griff and Ashley who also took part in the portrait session! Aren’t they adorable?
- Jeff and Griff nonchalantly taking a picture with Martha in the background, sneaky!
- Sneak attack on Martha!
Me and Cheree Berry, she’s so great!
- Some of the photos that were taken during the day
- A close up of the picture of me and Jeff that was on display. We were next to Sylvia Weinstock’s picture
- Close up of our pictures, we love them!
- The finished product. A portrait by Donna Newman, a personalized illustration by Darcy Miller, and calligraphy by Bernard Maisner. I’m so excited!
Best day of my life
A: AHHHH It’s Martha! I so would’ve killed to have been at that event. Not just to meet the famous talented people, but to see all of their work and them in action! I think I may be just as excited that you met Cheree Berry. She is my stationary icon. She and Mr. Boddington’s Studio. For those who don’t know, she used to design for Kate Spade and then opened her own design shop like I’m trying to do. Her invitations and designs are always featured in Martha Stewart. She’s awesome- and so young it looks like! Looks like you had a fab time. I love your photo and the calligraphy, but Darcy’s drawings look like doodles to me. Sorry Darc’. But at least the event money goes to a good cause!
Tags: Cheree Berry, Darcy Miller, Family, Martha Stewart
Hold up, lets just stop time right now. So apparently I was delirious yesterday when I posted about my really cool day. But yea, I took a step back today and thought about it. I’m working with Darcy Miller. Darcy freaking Miller. This is big time, BIG time. I’m working with one of the most influential people in the world of weddings and Martha Stewart. Um, hello? Why am I not freaking out more? I better not speak too soon though, I might get to see Martha Stewart tomorrow and if you don’t see a blog post from me, you can just assume that I died from a panic attack at the sight of her. No, seriously, I’m not that crazy, but have you seen my kitchen? Yea.
Anywho, so I spent today putting together all of the favors for the event tomorrow……..all 500 of the favors. They’re super cute! Take a look.
Cuteness
They are mini boxes with little characters drawn and attached to the top of them and then filled with chocolate. Darcy illustrated all of the little people and they’re actual people too. They’re adorable! Some boxes have Martha Stewart on them, Kate Spade and her family, Badgley Mischka, Lela Rose etc. I’m still checking to make sure I have all of my fingers, and my hands are permanently stuck in the shape of a claw after using scissors for hours, but it’s so worth it!
This is just a few of them.
I’ll be sure to post lots of pics tomorrow after the event!
Tags: Darcy Miller, Favors, Martha Stewart
So today was the first day that I started helping out with the Darcy Miller event that I’m a part of. Basically this event is serving as a way to showcase Darcy Miller’s illustrative talent. This lady is awesome! She has rented a studio down on Great Jones street and completely transformed it into a gallery filled with shadow boxes that she has made that highlight all the special moments from her life; we’re talking like 50-60 LARGE shadow boxes. The event is centered on the idea of “Celebrating Family!” Everything has to do with family. The shadow boxes, the favors and all the other little decorations around the studio. Throughout the day on Wednesday, families and brides and grooms, (me and Jeff!), will be having their portraits taken and then having them illustrated by Darcy. Everything will be placed in a shadow box for the families and couples to take. So excited!
So today, we started the big set up process and I got to meet Darcy Miller for the first time! She is so great and very sweet. I spent the day running errands around the city, including going to pick up a cake from the famous Sylvia Weinstock! I saw some pretty cakes while I was at her studio I also had the privilege of meeting the talented Cheree Berry and seeing all of her beautiful work she had done for the event. I was quite awe struck. I’m headed back to the studio tomorrow to continue helping. Just and FYI, here’s just a small handful of the guest list for this event:
Monique Lhuillier
Martha Stewart
Amsale
Lela Rose
Frederic Fekkai
Kate Spade
Ummmm, yea. Wednesday is going to be a fun day! I will definitely take lots of pictures!
Tags: Cheree Berry, Darcy Miller, Family
