Tag Archives: Martha Stewart

The Martha Stewart Gift Bag & Giveaway

Ever wonder what Martha Stewart would give away in her gift bags?  Well, here’s a look inside what we received during the American Made 2015 Summit.AmericanMade1

This denim tote from Map Tote is the perfect tote bag.  It’s nice, big and sturdy with long straps.  I also love the denim material used to make the bag.  It was strong enough to hold all of the stuff Martha sent us home with.

AmericanMade2

On the way home, I thought I spilled some of the Martha Stewart bottled coffee I had put in my bag.  I kept looking for a wet spot on the bag and couldn’t find anything.  After I got a couple of blocks from Martha’s HQ, I felt like I needed to eat something, because I felt like I may have had five too many cups of coffee.  But wait, I only had two cups of coffee and my last cup was at 11AM.  What gives?

Well, it would be the aroma from Martha Stewart Cafe’s Martha’s Blend coffee.  It was so strong, my body was getting the jitters just by smelling the coffee.  Considering I was loving her delicious coffee at her HQ, you can expect this to be the perfect brew.  You can purchase her coffee and teas at Martha Stewart Cafe.

My favorite item in the bag is something I’ve been wanting for some time now, but didn’t know where to get it.  This little monkey comes from a company called Creature Cups.  I’m going to have to order a few more of these.  I’ve been wanting the octopus one for some time.  They are so cool.  I can’t wait to give them as gifts this year.

The little slab of chocolate (I’m going with a guess here) may be from Dylan’s Candy Bar.  Let me tell you something, that little piece of chocolate had me in heaven.  It was so delicious.
AmericanMade3

Yogi teas, Stew Leonard’s Super Peanuts, Thank You cards from The UPS Store, Triple Sec from The DryBar, Martha Stewart’s Appetizers: 200 Recipes for Dips, Spreads, Snacks, Small Plates, and Other Delicious Hors d’Oeuvres, Plus 30 Cocktails, Seafood Brush from Wild Alaska Seafood, and lipstick from Sonia Kashuk.

AmericanMade4

Bottled coffee from Martha Stewart, quilting material from The City Quilter, Chalkboard US Map from Fathead.  What I like about the Fathead is that you can color in all of the states you’ve visited.  That’s what I did with mine.

AmericanMade5

This beautiful deck of cards comes from Yaniv.

AmericanMade6

Other fun things received is the Coolhaus Ice Cream Book: Custom-Built Sandwiches with Crazy-Good Combos of Cookies, Ice Creams, Gelatos, and Sorbets, a copy of Martha Stewart Living’s Thanksgiving issue, Woats, Pom juice and a box of Triscuits.

GIVEAWAY!!!

So you know sharing all of this would lead to something. As part of the month of November, a time when we should be thinking of the things we are grateful for, Ariana Huffington mentioned that every night before going to bed, her daughter lists three things she is grateful for and shares it with a couple of her friends.

Keeping in line with the things learned at the American Made 2015 Summit, I want to know what THREE THINGS you are grateful for.  Share in the comments below and enter for your chance to win a copy of Martha Stewart’s Appetizers cookbook.  The contest begins on November 11 and ends on November 18.  GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Martha Stewart’s American Made 2015

MS2A few months ago, I received an invitation to attend Martha Stewart’s American Made 2015 Summit.  I was a little shocked I received the invite, so I immediately responded and purchased my ticket.  I spent this last Saturday as one of the many guests at Martha Stewart’s HQ for one of the most talked about summits in America.  Let me tell you how this one adventure changed me.

First, I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived down at the Chelsea HQ.  There was such a long line of people to get inside.  After I got upstairs, grabbed my name tag and a cup of coffee, I headed to the back of the long line that was awaiting breakfast.

MS3Right at this time, someone got the brilliant idea that they should take a tray of pastries to the back of the line, so that they could help move the line along faster.  Guess who was at the back of the line?  ME.  I grabbed a chocolate croissant and headed to the nearest table (all standing room only).

Martha Stewart’s HQ is located inside a huge warehouse building located just a few blocks from Chelsea Piers.  Inside, you walk into a huge “ballroom” that can easily fit over a thousand people in it. Her HQ houses the magazine, the test kitchens, photo studios, offices and everything they need to make Martha Stewart Living (OmniMedia) what it is.

Throughout the day, we listened to numerous speakers on how to grow our businesses, as well as the changes we’re seeing from the economic, agricultural, technological, and socio-economic standpoint.  Huffington Post’s Ariana Huffington was the keynote speaker.  She spoke about the importance of rest and sleep.  Many decisions that end up being disastrous for a company are made by people that are lacking sleep.  Ariana understands this all to well.

She was a victim of pushing herself too hard to make her business succeed that she collapsed in a pool of her own blood.  After that, she learned the importance of resting and getting some sleep.  When she goes on vacation now, she doesn’t answer a single email.  Her out of office message tells people to email her back when she returns to the office.  In the meantime, the message that was sent will be deleted.  That way, when she returns from vacation, she has ZERO messages awaiting her.  This is UNPLUGGING and enjoying life without the need for technology.

One thing successful bloggers talk about all of the time is how they work so hard to run their blog.  They lose sleep over it, just to get the content up.  I learned a few years ago that I can’t write immediately after a game.  I wait until I get some sleep and a cup of coffee before I write anything.  I do this only because I know I’m no good to anyone when I’m tired and sleepy.  Why wreck my product by pushing myself to get it done when I need sleep?

I’m also big about unplugging when I’m at home.  I find that by turning the device on, it takes away from the things I really want or need to do.

MS1Did I mention that we were fed Martha Stewart style all day long?  Oh, we weren’t just fed, but everything down to the presentation was on par.  I fell in love with this butternut squash, quinoa and kale dish.  I hate kale and quinoa, but I was absolutely obsessed with this dish.  It was so good {waiting to see if I can get the recipe to share}.

Over the course of this week, I’ll be sharing the things I learned this week at Martha Stewart’s HQ.  Tomorrow, I’ll be sharing the goodies that were in the gift bag (it weighed a ton), as well as announcing a few giveaways.

I walked into Martha’s HQ not knowing what I was going to take from this.  I walked away with a much clearer understanding of what I wanted to do, especially as far as this site goes.  The speakers she selected gave me the idea on how to fine tune what it was I wanted to do.  It’s not just an ideal anymore.  This is a product.

More importantly, what I saw that day was a group of people that were on course to becoming the next Martha Stewart mogul in their own fields.  Each and every single person there had that potential within them.  This summit was there to help further them along on their journey.  It’s understanding that was what I saw in the people around me, that I also had to humble myself so that I could realize…wait…that means me, too.

Before I end this post, one lesson I took from life was a combination of what Martha Stewart and Stew Leonard were saying.  Remember that no matter what seed you plant in life, remember that in the end, you need to enjoy it.

Plant the roses.

Pick the roses.

Smell the roses.

Enjoy the roses.