More of Our Time in Las Vegas
On Friday's blog, I gave you a tour of the amazing Hoover Dam and I really enjoyed reading all of the great comments. Today's blog focuses on other Vegas adventures and on the purpose of our trip, The Home Depot store managers meeting. Once a year, The Home Depot hosts this managers meeting, with more than 3,000 employees and vendors in attendance. This event is the actual unveiling of all the new products, which will be placed in stores next season. As you may know, Martha Stewart Living has a growing line of wonderful products for the home and garden at The Home Depot. For example, we offer beautiful kitchens, top-quality paint, carpeting, closet systems, and wonderful patio furniture. And, I’m happy to report, that more great merchandise will be introduced next season.
1 We were hungry after our visit to Hoover Dam and The Coffee Cup Cafe looked like a friendly place to stop along Rt. 93 in Boulder City, NV.
2 It turns out that this place was featured on the Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives."
3 Coffee cups in an array of colors
4 These cups are available for purchase in the diner or at their on-line store. http://www.worldfamouscoffeecup.com/
5 The walls are covered with all sorts of interesting bric-a-brac.
6 The breakfast menu offered all of the usual favorites, plus south of the border dishes, and healthy choices.
7 Lunch Time had many sandwiches, burgers, salads, and their famous chili and verde. The menu says: Thinking about asking for a substitution - FREE, Asking for a substitution - $1, Asking for a substitution in the no substitution area - $20, Asking if these are real charges - $40.
8 We survived!
9 Both Daisy and Anduin ordered from the healthy choices and had scrambled egg whites with sliced tomatoes.
10 I chose a breakfast burrito with a side of cottage cheese - quite yummy!
11 Kevin enjoyed two eggs over easy with bacon and a side of home fries.
12 Continuing on to Vegas along Rt. 93, the Boulder City Trading Post sort of screamed out to us.
13 As did Hacienda Interiors
14 We stopped, but they weren't open. Everything in this most colorful display looked like it was made out of sheet metal.
15 Once back in Las Vegas, I had to quickly get ready for the Home Depot Managers' Meeting, held at Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Here I am being interviewed live by CNBC's Street Signs' host, Brian Sullivan.
16 The focus of the interview was the American consumer, consumer spending in the home improvement space, and exciting spring trends.
17 Brian Sullivan also interviewed select executives, including Frank Blake, the chairman and CEO of The Home Depot.
18 The Convention Center was set up like a giant Home Depot store - 350,000 square feet! There were many, many product displays set up throughout the space.
19 Here I am with Anduin getting ready for my Specialty and Project Paint demos.
20 At this big meeting, Home Depot store managers from across the country, walked from station to station familiarizing themselves with all the new store products. Many stopped to watch my presentation.
21 My Home Depot logo
22 Martha Stewart Living project paints are perfect for small household makeovers. They come in five distinctive finishes: Metallic, Metallic Glaze, Textured Metallic, Crackle, and Glitter.
23 These are the Creative Technique Applicators. Eight tools are available for twelve techniques, including herringbone and gingham. There is a wood grain rocker, a graining comb, a stripe comb, a linen dragger, a flexible stripe comb, a wavy graining brush, coarse steel wool, and a painting sponge.
24 Here I am with Sarah Fishburne, the Director of Trend and Design at Home Depot.
25 Posing with Home Depot managers for the Midwest
26 This is our paint display. My paint line comes in 280 colors in 4 different finishes. The colors are mixed in a Glidden base. There are also specialty paints, designed to provide a decorative accent to walls in any room. They are Potter's Clay, Lightstrokes, and Precious Metals.
27 Our display of decorative mirrors, storage solutions, and draperies
28 These are sections of Martha Stewart Kitchens configured as a workbench with some of our green and orange storage cubes.
29 Kevin thought this was a clever design.
30 More sections of my kitchen line to create a laundry room
31 What's clever about this design is that the Corian counter top travels up the sides and over the top of the washer and dryer, maximizing counter space.
32 This patio set was designed to allow the consumer to choose what color they would like covering the seat cushions.
33 The night before, we attended a Home Depot store manager dinner and I had Dani Fiori of Sweet Dani B make these paintbrush cookies for all the guests. The brushes represent our glitter paint. http://sweetdanib.com/
34 Another
35 Posing with Sarah Fishburne and Melissa Phillips - General Manager, Home Decorators Collection at The Home Depot
36 And the day before the Home Depot Store Managers' Meeting, we ate at a fantastic Vietnamese restaurant in Las Vegas called Pho Bosa. http://bosa1.com
37 A crunchy, delicious salad - Pho BOSA comes from the location in Southern California called little Saigon the largest population of Vietnamese outside of Vietnam.
38 A spring roll platter
39 More interesting rolls
40 Everything was so fresh and colorful and wonderful.
41 Here I am with Vanessa, the chef/owner of this superb eatery.
42 I really enjoyed this flavor-packed soup.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Designing even more new items, Home Depot does good for home owners who want something trendy. Nothing like paint to have your home made new. Las Vegas seems to have new image,coming out of time of economic slowdown that had many of us concerned. We missed going to PHO BOSA but love photos of THE TRADING POST and Coffee Cup Cafe.
Posted by: ann | March 18th, 2013 at 2:59 am
Martha, OMG the breakfast at the coffee cafe looked wonderful and so did the pho at pho bosa! Yummy yummy yummy I love pho. Thanks for sharing this blog.
Posted by: KLBrown | March 18th, 2013 at 3:10 am
Martha,
Love your Home Depot displays. Such beautiful products. I'd like one of everything! Also, I just got the April issue of Living and am enjoying it tremendously -- what a gorgeous and inspirational magazine.
Thanks for all you do to inspire, including this great blog --
Angela
Posted by: Angela | March 18th, 2013 at 6:27 am
You find the best places to eat Martha. The rolls at Pho BOSA look tasty and I love a good, flavorful soup, and If I'm ever in the area I'm stopping at The Coffee Cup, what a neat diner!
You have great products at Home Depot Martha, I have one of your floor length mirrors hanging in my walk in closet. They are the highest quality at such affordable prices.
If I ever have the opportunity to remodel I'm using your kitchen line. Kevin is right, what a clever configuration for a work bench area and I like the idea of extending the counter over the washer and dryer, who doesn't like more work space?
Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip to Las Vegas Martha!
Posted by: Cindy F | March 18th, 2013 at 8:14 am
Hi Martha, Thank you so much for your wonderful tweets about your new trip to Medellin and I can't wait to see your blog about that wonderful visit to South America! You go to the nicest places and your blogs are spectacular! This latest blog about more of your visit to Las Vegas is awesome! It's been so many years since I've been there and I love your photos and information about this trip!! The skies look so beautifully blue and the weather must have been marvelous! The Coffee Cup Cafe must have been a wonderful place to get those delicious breakfasts all of you had-yummmm! Boulder City sure looks colorful! I recall seeing you on CNBC that day and you looked and sounded terrific! Those photos of you at the Convention Center with your products at Home Depot are outstanding and you looked so beautiful and happy to be there! In photo #35 my favorite color is the middle one at the top! How nice that Dani Flori was there to make her delicious cookies! That Vietnamese restaurant had delicious looking foods, also! Thanks for another great blog! Sure hope you are having more fun in Medellin and have a great day! Off to see The Daily Wag about growing onions and potatoes! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | March 18th, 2013 at 9:24 am
Hi Martha,
I agree with Cindy F. You always find the best places to eat. I bet that pizza you ate the other night in Medellin was the best in the city too! But, speaking of your products at Home Depot, I was just in there yesterday checking everything out in the closet organizing section. I was going up and down the aisles looking for 3-in-1 oil which I didn't find but I found your products while I was looking. I'm going back to get some of those storage cubes. I didn't have time to make my selections yesterday because I needed to get mulch and sprinkler parts. I like your patio chairs too with the color selection for the cushions. All of the colors are nice but I would probably get red to go with my dark blue tables. Believe me, if we could afford to remodel, it would be with your kitchen and flooring products. I think about it a lot and you know what they say about being careful of what you think – that it just might happen! We already have a faux brick wall in the kitchen that matches the colors in your pictures. We have dark cupboards and I am so sick of dark – time for change! On another subject, Dani did a great job with those paint brush cookies but all of her cookies are pretty fabulous. Thanks for your blog! Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 18th, 2013 at 9:59 am
Good Morning Martha,
I shop at Home Depot regularly but I haven't noticed the drapes. Are they something new for Home Depot? I look forward to seeing them. I change drapes often. Window coverings change the look of a room and they are so easy to change. I have an assortment of window coverings stored in a closet and usually when the seasons change, I will change drapes. In fact, on Friday I made a valance out of a piece of blue and white toile I had left over from another project. Anyway, I look forward to seeing all of your new products. I have many of your products in my home now and they are all of good quality.
Posted by: Cindy M | March 18th, 2013 at 11:33 am
I love Vegas off the beaten track. I found a great restaurant from your visit a few years back. Thanks Martha!
Posted by: Holiday Baker Man | March 18th, 2013 at 12:14 pm
{Dear Martha! Ha! While waiting for dialup to upload pics here I'm reading many wonderful and enthusiastic comments! So stimulating! Glanced over to an "OMG!" comment and suddenly just reversed the acronymn in my Googled-out-head and saw GMO! backwards!...(GiveMeOrganic) ,,now back to waiting for your pics! Thanks very much!}
Posted by: Tina Y. | March 18th, 2013 at 12:44 pm
Dear Martha,
Starting with the Vietnamese spring rolls: A Vietnamese family involved in community garden brought us all spring rolls to a monthly picnic...never had a better one!
The Coffee Cup Cafe...Oh, boy...I remember it well! We, too, on a family car-trip West, immediately exited Hoover Dam and arrived at The Coffee Cup. Ha!
Kevin knows a good design when he sees one! We're all thrilled right down to the glitter paint, that your products are just down the way at Home Depot!
Love the combo washer/dryer cubby/shelving! The 8 tools!!!
I LOVE ALL YOUR TOOLS! (I have your Multi-Purpose Scissors! I use to cut everything from chicken livers to leather! So strong, exact and durable!!!)
Home Depot's managers meetings once a year is a gracious offering and speaks for their integrity! Having even more of your products in their stores have completely sold me on Home Depot!
Cottage cheese with eggs! Just never thought of that! I will try! Love it on a baked potato! I miss those little silver tea pots at diners! Do you remember the tiny, little shot-glass creamers?
It all has been such a great trip!
Thank you, Martha, for being there with your blog!
Posted by: Tina Y. | March 18th, 2013 at 1:22 pm
Dear Martha (and Dani),
Oops! Forget to RAVE about your PAINT BRUSH COOKIES!!! I LOVE THEM!Glitter never looked so good! To the last drop! A HIT!!! :O
Posted by: Tina Y. | March 18th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Las Vegas seems to unique and interesting! We love your Christmas decorations. We have many ornaments from your collections as well as a tinsel tree that is one of our favorite things.
Posted by: Laura Dembowski | March 18th, 2013 at 2:58 pm
I'm going to Las Vegas with my boyfriend in May and I hope to go to that Vietnamese restaurant. The food looks so good!
Posted by: homer | March 18th, 2013 at 3:55 pm
Martha,
I am so excited to see so many of your wonderful new products! Today, I took a few moments to consider how much you and your company have impacted my family through the years and wanted to send you and your staff a heartfelt thanks for all that you do to add beauty, quality, and convenience to our lives.
When shopping for paint, gardening supplies, cookware, kitchen tools, craft items, furniture, rugs, Christmas Décor, pet supplies, or just anything else for the home I am always thrilled to find products with your label. Not only are the colors lovely and your elegantly simple designs so much more attractive; the functionality, quality, and affordability are always far superior to competitor brands.
I like having products that last for years and do the job they were intended to do. Your Tri-ply Cookware (Macy's) is the finest cookware I have owned, having had two other high-end brands that did not cook as evenly or clean up as effortlessly as yours. I've had a Martha Stewart sage green patio set for around twenty years now. After five long-distance moves and plenty of use, it still looks great and works well today. We bought it at K-mart when we were first married and it remains more sturdy, comfortable, and attractive than the majority of the sets currently being sold in higher end patio shops today. I think we paid well under $300 for it back then and that included a full size matching umbrella!
My husband and I had an enormous challenge selling our cottage style home five years ago after the recession hit. There might have been other factors that contributed to the sale, but the only highly enthusiastic comments I heard from the young buyers were how much they loved the fresh, modern interior paint color (Birdbath Gray), with the coordinating décor (all Martha Stewart)! So thanks for that!
My latest purchase is your fabulous Knit and Weave Loom Kit. The design is quite ingenious with its moveable pegs to vary the tightness of the weave. I had been searching for such a design for years and never found it. Now I will be able to make a wide-range of quality knitted goods in a quick and easy fashion. Many thanks again for all that you and your staff do!
Posted by: Mary | March 18th, 2013 at 5:33 pm
Martha, The print in Martha Stewart Living is becoming smaller all the time Anyway to enlarge it a "tad" for our older eyes?,
Posted by: evelyn worley | March 20th, 2013 at 7:29 pm
Vegas is always great to in - its a very tourist friendly place, the taxi services are good, the hotels are awesome and the entertainment is the best.
Posted by: Mumbai Darshan | March 23rd, 2013 at 7:20 am
We recently moved to Boulder City from KS. The Coffee Cup is fantastic!!! Friendly staff, great service and fabulous food! To top it off, the price can't be beat and the portions are very generous! We eat there often. Try their corned beef hash! Yummmm-EEEE!
Posted by: Carol Ann | March 28th, 2013 at 2:00 am