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Every day, we're posting helpful "Good Things" - original and personal hints from me, our team, and many classics from my latest book, “Martha Stewart's Very Good Things: Clever Tips & Genius Ideas for an Easier, More Enjoyable Life" published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. I hope you have your copy - it's in bookstores right now! We'll share "Good Things" for decorating, cleaning, organizing, gardening, entertaining, celebrating, cooking, and more. We'll also post them on our new web site, MarthaStewartGoodThings.com, where you can enter your chance to win a copy of the book, personally signed by me! Everyone needs "Good Things" - and now there are many ways to find them!
Enjoy these photos.
I debuted “Very Good Things” during the 30th anniversary year of our magazine, “Martha Stewart Living.” For more than three decades, we’ve offered our readers what I call “Good Things” or those smart, quick “a-ha” tips and tricks that our readers love. And now we have this first volume complete with more than 500-of those wonderful solutions. I know you will love this compendium of helpful, practical home and life hints. Buy a copy today at MarthaStewartGoodThings.com and find out how you can win a signed copy of the book!
Here’s a “Good Thing” I often make at the farm – a no-fuss fritatta. Just whisk together a dozen eggs, fold in vegetables such as onions, potatoes and peppers, and cook at 400-degrees Fahrenheit for about 20-25 minutes. I serve it hot, warm or cool.
Every kitchen should have these sliding space-savers. These pull-out storage solutions are available at home improvement centers. They are great for accessing items in the back of cabinets. And, they can be found in a range of sizes and materials.
All-purpose upholstery can be used indoors and out and can make cleaning up spilled coffee, sticky fingers and muddy paws a cinch. In a variety of pleasing patterns, it’s ideal for high traffic areas such as the kitchen and family room.
With everyone spending more time at home, make a creative and fun hideaway teepee for the children using paintable canvas. The easy how-to for this artistic project is in the book, “Martha Stewart’s Very Good Things.”
Have an old unused cabinet? Convert its shelves into a dollhouse with some foam board inserts and decorative paper – it’s a great way to reuse and repurpose.
To make any special gathering more festive, dip-dye bamboo and reed plates in food-safe coloring to create a unique ombre table scape.
When entertaining, gather assorted glass bottles and vases and give the insides a few coats of white matte spray paint to create a faux porcelain look. They’ll look so beautiful with cut flowers.
Reusable cloth napkins are must-haves for any dining table. Durable, pretty, and much more sustainable than their paper cousins.
Keep your days in check with a restaurant order-style ticket holder to display essential notes, assorted pictures and memorabilia, and everything you need to access quickly.
Convert a favorite tablecloth, vintage linen, or large swath of fabric into a quilt. It’s an easy way to revitalize your bedroom decor while keeping you warm. This classic DIY project is also in the book.
Another fun project for the family is making homemade candles. Copper bowl candles are the perfect batch gift to make and keep for every occasion.
Make your armoire one-of-a-kind with custom cabinet pulls made with the same leather tape often used to repair leather goods. Just wrap around the handles and add a few stitches to secure the ends.
For a perfectly portioned and shareable appetizer, slice your veggies into thin strips and tie them into bundles with chives. Have some dip stationed nearby and these bright and beautiful bites will be devoured in no time.
Infuse interesting flavors into vodka for a unique cocktail experience – just add the ingredients and store it in an airtight container in a dark place for a few days. Some ideas include beet and horseradish, chestnut and dried fruit, star anise, dried chile and cardamom, fennel and lemon, and grapefruit zest and coriander.
In lieu of textiles, try painting your own stair runner. Dark hues will cover nicks and scratches. Flank the center color with a contrasting border and use painter’s tape to create the straight lines.
So many of you love this soap dispenser “Good Thing” – just decant your dishwashing liquid into an attractive glass bottle and top it with a pour-out spout available at any kitchen supply store. This tip was first introduced in my April/May 1993 issue of “Martha Stewart Living” – do you remember this one?
I have long used cake stands to display much more than sweet treats, but if you don’t have any, create your own by upturning flea market finds such as dishes and saucers atop upside down bowls for bases – it’s a “Good Thing.”
This “Good Thing” utilizes a lazy Susan to corral cooktop essentials such as salt, pepper, and often-used utensils – just spin to get what is needed.
Another workspace idea is to use modular cork tiles to create a custom pinboard. These are so easy to cut and fit into any space, and can be used to display children’s art work, notes, photos, a calendar, or any other items that may otherwise get lost in a pile.
I devised this “Good Thing” for my own geese at the farm to keep the winter winds from entering the hutch at night. This is a double layer of burlap attached to the top of the opening. It allows them easy access in and out.
Here’s one of my favorite good things – I buy silver plate saucers whenever I see them at tag sales or garage sales – they look great underneath my houseplants. Be sure to follow @MarthaStewartGoodThings on Instagram for new ideas and inspirations every day!
Temperatures at Skylands, my home in Seal Harbor, Maine, are expected to be in the mid-30s today with clouds and some light morning snow.
Yesterday, it was much colder - well below 20-degrees Fahrenheit to start and freezing temperatures throughout the day. In the afternoon, a brief snow shower covered everything around my home in glistening white - so clean and pure.
Enjoy these wonderful photos taken by Cheryl DuLong.
Here is my large “cracked ice” terrace at Skylands facing Seal Harbor. In this photo – one can see some of the original kiwi vines, now bare, that are still thriving after all these years. To protect the large urns on the terrace from the winter elements, they are covered with plywood boxes. Many of the urns are quite heavy, so it is much easier to cover them during the cold season.
These steps from the driveway lead to the “lost pools” where my grandchildren loved to play when they were younger.
Here are the two “lost pools” which I found when I acquired the home. These “lost pools” are empty now, but are filled every spring.
Here is a view from the front of Skylands on the ledge across from my home. The day started very cold, but by afternoon, temperatures rose into the high 20s.
Looking in the other direction, this is the front of Skylands. A circular driveway leads to my front door.
In the woodlands near my home sits this oddly shaped rock – looks almost like a comfortable chaise lounge.
There are many footpaths that meander through Skylands. This one leads from the driveway to the tennis court. Now covered in a light layer of snow, these footpaths are lined with pine needles in summer.
This gazebo by the tennis court is well-used during warmer months. My daughter, Alexis, and her children love to play tennis. A table and chairs are always put out under the gazebo for enjoying refreshments in between tennis game sets.
Here is the tennis court – look closely and one can barely see the white court lines beneath the snow.
Across the path to the tennis court is this giant natural pink granite rock. The pink coloration is due to the high potassium feldspar content, a mineral commonly found in granite. This pink tinted granite is all over Mt. Desert Island and is definitely one of the things that makes this region so remarkable and beautiful.
Behind this stone wall is Aristide Maillol’s ‘La Riviere,’ but don’t worry – she is safe and all tucked away in a shelter for the remainder of winter.
This footpath is between the Playhouse and my guest house looking at the Western Terrace, where I love to enjoy and host brunches when I’m there.
These snow-covered steps go from the guest house to my home’s back porch – obviously less traveled during this time of year – not one foot print on the steps.
Friends who visit and stay in my guest house enjoy this view from the terrace. Through the trees, one can see Thrumcap – the rocky little islands in Seal Harbor, and the great ocean beyond.
This is just outside my vegetable and flower garden where we plant several rows of artichokes. We planted them here because it is safe from deer – the bees will arrive en masse to enjoy the blooms, but artichokes are rather prickly, so deer usually don’t bother them.
Skylands is beautiful in every season, but under the glistening snow, it is even more magical. This is another look into the woodland with some of “Rockefeller’s Teeth” on the left guarding the road’s edge.
This is the small glass greenhouse. There is not enough room in this structure to store all the tropicals that decorate my terrace in summer, so those are all transported back to Bedford and kept in large temperature-controlled hoop houses. On the right – the wood shop and tractor garage.
Once the snow stopped, the skies began to clear, but it was still quite cold. Here is my flower garden. In Maine, my vegetable and flower garden are together in one large space completely surrounded by a tall fence.
This photo shows the charming Ox Ledge gazebo through the trees.
The gazebo opens to this beautiful large, flat overlook garden surrounded by majestic trees and stunning views.
From inside the gazebo, one looks out onto the Cranberries, Sutton Island, Dodge Point, Thrumcap, and the ocean beyond. Most of the boats have disappeared from their harbor moorings, but they’ll return again come spring.
By early evening, the cloudy skies lit up with light shades of pink as the sun was preparing to set. Thanks for sending these photos of beautiful Skylands, Cheryl. I look forward to my next visit.
As a lover of plants, it's always such a treat for me to visit a well-stocked botanical gallery that deals in exotic and unusual varieties.
Last week, during my brief trip to Los Angeles, I stopped at The Tropics, Inc., a leader in the rare specimen plant and tree industry. Founded in 1972, The Tropics carries thousands of tropical plants, trees, orchids, and decorative accessories - all housed in a 20,000 square foot showroom. The owner, Ryan Hroziencik, and his team offer plants for both residential and corporate use, real estate staging, and television and film projects. I admired all of the many unusual cultivars, containers, and outdoor garden ornaments.
Enjoy these photos.
Here’s Ryan, owner and president of The Tropics, Inc. Los Angeles, in front of the original sign. Now in its 49th year, Ryan’s father, Ronald J. Hroziencik, started the business selling junk at a swap meet with his college roommate. Occasionally, they would have plants to sell, and customers loved them. And now, it’s a successful establishment with a large inventory of unique and beautiful specimens.
This is a specimen black olive tree. Black olive trees reach heights ranging from 20 to 80 feet, and develop strong, sturdy trunks covered by a thick, dense gray, deeply fissured bark. The tree canopy is also dense and tight, with most branching spreading outward and horizontally.
This specimen black olive tree is in an aged vintage wooden planter.
This is a well-branched Zamia bonsai underplanted with Abromeitiella mounds in a low iron ceramic bowl. Zamia is a large genus of cycads from tropical America with one species being native to southern USA. All the species produce leafy crowns of foliage that resemble palms or ferns and most branch heavily with age to produce attractive clumps.
This is a specimen Zamia in an aged hewn stone planter.
And here is a large Abromeitiella mound, also in a stone planter. Abromeitiella plants are mat-forming succulents with spined leaves arranged in numerous rosettes. They grow slowly and sometimes form cushion-shaped colonies. In their natural environment, they almost never get water, and have developed the capacity to absorb water from the humidity in the air.
Ryan has a variety of planters for sale – in all different sizes, forms, and materials. Here is an assortment of vintage vessels inside the showroom.
This is a vintage Willy Guhl planter. Willy Guhl was a pioneering Swiss furniture designer and one of the first industrial designers in Switzerland. He designed a wide range of objects and furnishings, from chairs to door handles, church pews, and vases. He is probably best known for his chairs, especially the Loop Chair. In 1951, the Swiss company Eternit commissioned Guhl—along with his students at the School of Applied Arts in Zurich—to create a line of attractive and durable planters for use indoors or out. These planters were made using concrete.
And of course, I always spot the faux bois planters.
This is Aloidendron dichotomum, formerly Aloe dichotoma, the quiver tree or kokerboom – a tall, branching species of succulent plant, indigenous to Southern Africa, specifically in the Northern Cape region of South Africa, and parts of Southern Namibia. It is planted in a low iron ceramic bowl.
There was something to see in every corner. Here is a sculptural Ficus palmeri with roots growing over a dead tree stump with more Abromeitiella mounds planted at the base. Ficus palmeri has large, dark green leaves that are ovate to cordate in shape and alternate in arrangement. The plant has fuzzy leaves, petioles, and branchlets, and smooth, sometimes scaly bark that is yellowish in color.
This is an aged Ficus macrocarpus bonsai with aerial roots and Abromeitiella mounds.
This is a Blue Nolina in a low iron ceramic bowl. This specimen resembles the yucca species, developing a 10 to 12-foot trunk and a large rosette of foliage. It is one of the larger plants found in the Nolina genus.
And here is a large curved draco. Dracaena draco, the Canary Islands dragon tree or drago, is a subtropical tree in the genus Dracaena, native to the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira, western Morocco, and is thought to be introduced in the Azores. It is the natural symbol of the island of Tenerife, together with the blue chaffinch bird.
Outside is this massive eight-ton draco. These trees can live for hundreds of years. Unfortunately, these trees are threatened in the wild in the Canary Islands.
Ryan has one room dedicated to growing moss. Here is one wall of the “moss room.”
And here is another view of three walls of the “moss room.”
And here’s a staghorn. I am a big fan of staghorn ferns, Platycerium, and have many in my own collection at my Bedford, New York farm.
Here is a large Furcraea macdougallii, or MacDougall’s Century Plant. It is a large rosette forming succulent that has six-foot long dark-green stiffly-upright leaves with regularly-spaced hooked teeth growing at the top of an unbranched trunk that can be eight-feet tall or more. In its natural habitat, it can grow to more than 20 feet and is considered the tallest of the Agave relatives.
Here is an “ancient” and very large Encephalartos tree. Encephalartos woodii, Wood’s cycad, is a rare cycad in the genus Encephalartos, and is endemic to the oNgoye Forest of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is one of the rarest plants in the world.
And here is a giant Elephant Foot Tree, also known as the ponytail palm, as I call mine. It is a member of the agave family and is native to southeastern Mexico. In its native habitat it grows as a 30 foot tall tree and looks like an oddly branched palm. What makes ponytail palm stand out is its distended base which can reach four feet across.
This is a specimen Pachira. It usually has two or three inter-woven trunks and dark green leaves that resemble a hand with five fingers.
And here is Ryan’s “desk” surrounded by a Pachira stump, vintage foundry planters, a black olive tree, a teak tree stump, with coral sponge clam shells on his desktop and a wall of moss as a backdrop. What a lovely place to visit and learn about these exotic and rare specimens. If you’re ever in the West Hollywood area of Los Angeles, I encourage you to visit The Tropics, Inc.
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