Monday, January 17, 2011

My (Very Fleeting) Martha Stewart Moment

I really did have a Martha Stewart moment at Christmas. We had some friends over for a Christmas Eve afternoon tamale and sangria party, just before we all departed to spend some time at the Mesilla Plaza.

I had so much fun designing the table in blue and silver and white. I put together this centerpiece.

I found the perfect fabric and made napkins, using these very clear directions. There shouldn't be anything to making napkins, after all, but I liked the method shown for doing the corners. Even so, the best directions can't seem to help me make absolutely square napkins. Oh, well, I figured that our guests would be drinking sangria, and wouldn't be planning to examine the napkins too closely. 


I used pieces of sparkly blue garland and little glass balls to wrap the napkins. (Hey, how did that knife get knocked aside? Stay tuned).

The table looked very festive and my Christmas cacti all bloomed right on cue, making a nice backdrop. I forgot to take photos at the time, however, and thought I would re-create the table and take some pictures in this morning's nice sunshine, even though the cacti shed all their blossoms weeks ago.

Alas, I had forgotten just why we don't always live the well-decorated life. As soon as I got everything set up and climbed up onto my little step stool, little Skippy Kee came along to shift the silverware and to swat at the bits of garland.


I sorted her out with a fearsome banshee shriek, slid the table down to where the sun had moved, and climbed back up onto my step stool, camera in hand. 


This time it was Miss Cleo--a former recluse, just now finding a need to socialize--who decided to get into the picture. I gave up any pretensions regarding the Martha Stewart life, and decided just to show you a slice of reality, Zee-style. 

This is it. This is how we really live.

7 comments:

JC said...

At least you tried. I have lots of nice dishes and I never use them. My dining room table is really a place for the cats to sit with my candles and sit in the sun (when we have it.

charlotte g said...

And the way you live looks gorgeous and much more fun than Martha Stewart:)

Martha Z said...

From the couple of shots you got before the feline interuption it's easy to see that the table was lovely.

Beth said...

Your Martha Stewart settings were lovely, Clair, but Zee-style reality has its own beauty. :-)

Sandy ~~~ said...

Cats enjoy culture too, even if they can hold a magazine in their paws!

Linda said...

Much better than the real Martha Stewart!

Anonymous said...

Look at you, though! That centerpiece is beautiful!

Yum. A tamale and sangria party. Sounds perfect!

We can totally relate to the "children" issues. :D LOL at the thought of the banshee shriek. :)