Monday, July 9, 2012

Goodbye Martha Stewart

When I moved from California to Colorado, I packed all my Martha Stewart Living Magazines thinking that I could in some small way become Martha Stewart in my new home.  I would plant an English garden, become a gourmet cook, everything in my home would be organized including drawers and closets.  And I would be the perfect  hostess with table decorations to match the season, as well as superb food.  And holidays. . .handmade gifts for everyone, a Christmas tree worthy of Rockefeller Center, and of course handmade ornaments which would bring oohs and ahs from all my guests who  would notice the special handmade soap in the bathroom and the vintage linen towels there as well.

What a surprise; it never happened and. . .quite a few years later while de-cluttering and painting my office, there were the Martha Stewart magazines neatly stacked in the closed cabinets, all 50 of them!  So, feeling environmentally guilty, I arranged to deliver them to a craft store here in Denver.  They were so heavy that I had to box them and use a wheeled cart to deliver them.

So Goodbye Martha, I can never be you, but I admire you.  You are like the perfect student in class, the one who gets straight A's, the one the teachers adore, the one who gets chosen for those secret sororities we had in high school, and also attractive. . .sigh.

But like those unrealistic dreams we have, dreams they are, so we take the best of those dreams and make a tiny part of them come true. Let's see which part?  I know, I'll marry the guy I met at my high school reunion and live happily ever after.  Martha did not do that.

17 comments:

  1. Aside from marrying a great guy and living happily ever after, I know for a fact that you are very talented artistically. You also make a considerable effort to give your family and friends the perfect, well-chosen gift. Martha would be proud of you - you really don't need her magazines!
    (Cute post, by the way!)

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  2. Thank you! From one artistic relative to another. I think both of us are beyond Martha and Oprah and are now on our own.

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  3. When I saw the headline I thought she'd died. I know what you're saying about the magazines though. I've got a bunch of old magazines I need to let go of. "Men's Health"? What was I thinking? That reading the magazines or looking at the pictures was going to get me in shape. I don't think I read an of the issues in that subscription. Then there's all those other magazines. Why, oh, why?


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Lee: I got such a laugh from your comment, not that I wish for Martha's demise. But magazines are our fantasy, we just need to read and then share or pitch. But Martha is one of a kind. I still remember her meticulous photos of say apples, all the different kinds of apples photographed on a black background, labeled with their scientific names. And. . .I realize, she has a talented staff. I am still chuckling over your comment.

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  4. and there you go - reality vs. fantasy. Magazines and books are designed to fill in our gaps and lapses. I still gaze at fashion magazines knowing full well I wouldn't look good in an outfit worn by a size 2. But it doesn't hurt to dream, as long as you are content with your reality.

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    1. I think I was a size two when I was two, Joanne. Dreaming is good, as you say, and you do get ideas from those magazines, and you do have to admire the layout and fabulous photos.

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  5. Boy do I resonate with this post. New thing for me is making collages, though, and gardening magazines are best for that. Some MS ones I get for free here and there (had to stop subscribing to things I never read).

    Like being with someone in a bad relationship, those things we don't need take up the space for something miraculous to step in its place. So, I've begun to feel better about getting rid of things that don't serve me any longer.

    But if you came to my house, you'd say I was still a hoarder. LOL.

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  6. You are excused, Sharon, because you are a writer.

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  7. the post was so contrast with the title
    nice post !

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  8. yay--i love a gal that can throw things away---that is a martha stewart kinda thing :)

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  9. Oh, I have aspirations like that. I don't necessarily want to be Martha Stewart, but I'd love to be a good hostess (not even perfect!), always neatly arranged, house spotless. Not going to happen.

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  10. Also, we have to remember that she has help, lots of help.

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  11. Great post. I try to just rip out the pages I want to keep. Usually I rip out 229 pages, so it kinda defeats the point.

    best,
    MOV

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  12. Even the thought of trying to be like Martha Stewart brings on a panic attack! I honestly wouldn't want to live like that...perfection is stifling. Good for you for letting it go!

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  13. Thanks MOV and Stephanie: The best way to throw magazines out is to never look at them again.

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  14. Interesting post about how reality catches up with us eventually. I still have a few magazines published in 1923, but they aren't going for recycling, they're collectors items now. Nice post with very interesting comments. Blessings, Geoff.

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