I'm no Martha Stewart. And {no offense, Martha} I wouldn't want to be compared to this pop-culture icon, perfectionist snob, ex-convict.
Martha's old-school perfect is not achievable in a real-life home where mom and dad work, kids run in, out and through, pets abound, schedules collide, meals are sometimes an after-thought and life happens without the aid of a personal assistant, driver, gardener, housekeeper, personal trainer, etc, etc, etc.
That doesn't mean that a home can't be cozy, warm, beautiful and inviting and meals aren't tasty, homemade, fresh and nutritious. There's just a new and improved standard of perfect.
When Martha rose to the top of her perfectly sculpted, hand-wrought, expertly starched, ivory hued {linen} tower, we were a different society. We were not do-it-our-selfers; we were not interconnected online; sharing ideas, recipes, photos and designs. We were simply observers; dreaming of living life in the penthouse. We were intrigued with her detailed, ridiculously long recipes and her hoity toity language and luxurious extravagance.
We are more self-sufficient now. We have blogs and Facebook and Pinterest to encourage us to give it a try; get some fabric, a bit of paint and some ribbon; be ourselves; give our homes our personal touch with our own signature looks; imperfect is the new perfect. We can do it ourselves. We are creative and inventive and colorful.
Recently, Martha had a bit of a tantrum. She spouted off about all the so-called lifestyle and foodie bloggers. She complained that they were not {GASP} experts; they had not sufficiently tested their recipes; they are inexperienced. Martha doesn't like these people moving in on her territory.
Dear Martha, calm yourself, you might get a wrinkle in your blouse…. I am sorry to tell you this, but you are irrelevant now. You may have helped us get here, but we are OK with making mistakes and living with wrinkles and making up our own recipes and following mere novices.
Now, I certainly don't claim to be a lifestyle or foodie blogger, but I do sometimes post recipes or holiday decorating or party ideas. So, I feel that I should offer a disclaimer here: I am not an expert designer, decorator, chef, recipe writer or party planner.
And yet, I have tested and consumed all recipes I have posted here. I have created, designed, planned and implemented all items involving home décor or party ideas shown on this blog.
And in that spirit of sharing I have a few holiday décor photos right here in this post. So, Move Over, Martha!
Oh, and for the record, back in the day, that is, the 1990s, I did try a few of Martha's "expertly tested" recipes and none of them were ever keepers. Ironically, I actually always wondered if they were indeed tested.
So, don't worry about whether your favorite lifestyle or foodie blogger is an expert and don't think twice about whether you're qualified to tackle a project in your home. If you like, try it; be creative and have fun; be your own Martha.
Over and out…
Anna
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