I heart Martha

Well, I mean, not really. I've never met the gal. Although I came really close. My sister-in-law dated her nephew for a couple of years and I thought for sure I'd get to meet her. My sister-in-law (hereafter known simply as Gabrielle) actually went to her house in Connecticut while Martha was in jail (we won't discuss that unpleasantness here) and met her chickens. Gabrielle says they were the most beautiful chickens ever.

My love affair with Martha began when I was pregnant with Olivia and I noticed Martha Stewart Baby on the newsstand. Do any of you remember that one? From that magazine, I learned how to make a little dress out of an embroidered pillowcase, how to make a french knot, and how to make our own baby food (oh yes I did). I was so inspired by the pink ribbon cake in one issue that I took three months of cake decorating classes so I could make Olivia's 1st birthday cake (in fact, I made three of them).

Sadly, there were only a few issues of Baby published (I still have each of them), and then Omnimedia moved on to KIDS (I have every one of those, too). I devoured each and every one of those issues. I needed the applesauce muffin recipes and the how-to's and the pull-out magazines and the clip art. I needed that magazine! So imagine my dismay when KIDS, too, stopped being published.

Yes, I subscribe to Living, but my heart isn't in it. It's a bit too foofy for me. I don't even rip any pages out any more. And I don't save the issues, either.

But my faith was restored with the advent of Blueprint. In fact, I got my latest issue yesterday:

There's a wonderful peek into the home of Joelle Hoverson, one of the sisters behind Purl and Purl Patchwork (and of course, the Purl Bee):

So when I stopped into Michael's today to buy more glass clippy frames for my kids' artwork...

Imagine how delighted I was to see the racks being assembled for this:

Yay!