I reached out and touched the plush, luxurious, bath towels.
They were a deep, rich blue.
They were sinfully soft.
They would match the bathroom perfectly.
And they were on sale.
I bought them, and the matching bathmats, which were also luxuriously soft and thick and deep.
And they were made by Martha Stewart.
And that’s when I officially became obsessed.
She is called the lifestyle guru.
But I believe she is the goddess of hedonism.
All that is luxurious and pleasurable – for the pure sake of enjoyment.
A first world commodity.
She is now 75 years old.
And still going gangbusters, with cooking shows (her latest features rap star Snoop Dog), and home lifestyling merchandise.
And she is 75 years old!
She herself has had anything but a life of leisure and luxury, if you believe Wikipedia (which I understand high school students are not allowed to utilize for research projects).
She was jailed for stock market conspiracy.
She divorced after a 25+ year marriage.
She has built her empire from scratch.
She is likely not an easy person to work with – or work for.
However, I discovered I had two of her cookbooks in my posession (I can’t remember purchasing them, but found them when we moved). One is 30+ years old, the other 20+ years old.
Reading them through is like stirring a rich pot of risotto.
Luxurious for the sake of luxury.
Smooth and thick for the sake of understanding.
Descriptions so finite of each morsel, the dish it’s served on, the cutlery, the backdrops, the tablecloths, the napkins.
So enfused with the pure enjoyment of hedonistic pleasure, that it fills the senses and soothes the mindset; eases the troubled soul and calms the turbulent spirit.
I now want to cook each and every one of her recipes.
Just like the girl who cooked each and everyone of “French Chef” Julia Child’s recipes, wrote about it in a blog, and then had a movie made about it (see Julie and Julia, featuring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams – a GREAT flic!).
Perhaps it could be called “Martha and Sharon”.
I am just kidding, of course.
But to her credit, she is a self-made, self-built woman; head of an empire that encompasses every bit of media.
It’s an incredible feat.
In a man’s, man’s, man’s, man’s world, she is an inspiration.
She is an animal advocate.
She is the ambassador of the perfect, welcoming home. A retreat. A family haven. Decor that envelops and encompasses. With warm, good food on the table.
What’s not to love about that.