Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
style for the masses, July 17, 2004
This is a fine magazine with truly scrumptious recipes if you're into the kitchen/food thing, home ideas that one can actually use (or that will inspire one to do something similar), and exquisite photography, usually quite stark and simple, of ways to enhance the aesthetic beauty of one's life.
One can serve a plain meal of soup and bread, and make it look like a feast, if you get into Martha's way of looking at things, and it does not take a spending spree to have a "Martha Look". Her basic table settings tend to be white china (one can use mix and match white plates from the local thrift store), clear glass, and colorful fabric...add some well shaped twigs in a glass vase for a centerpiece, and voila ! you have a table that could be shown in this lovely magazine; a rule for "The Look" seems to be the absence of clutter.Of the regular monthly articles, I like "Ask Martha", which solves problems posed by readers, from health issues to how best to clean your eyeglasses, to "How can I get the coating on my chicken to stay in place when I am frying it ?".
"Clip-Art Craft" is another I appreciate, where in the August '04 edition for example, there are attractive templates for postcards, which one can copy onto card stock, glue a 4 x 6 photo to, and send to your friends. It's another grand idea from Martha !
You'll find articles on antiques, pets, gardening, seasonal fruits and vegetables, and much more, and on the last page, the yummy "Cookie of the Month". Martha Stewart has brought style and good merchandise at affordable prices for those of us who are budget conscious, but like nice things. I have bought her bedding, and her bathroom accessories have graceful shapes and are an excellent value, and this magazine is one of my favorite aspects of the "Martha industry". The Patricians I know are not usually kind to Martha, but Proles & Plebes like me tend to greatly appreciate her.
Martha, we're going to stick by you through thick and thin !
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as out-of-touch as she's made out to be, March 3, 2002
By A Customer
Many people find themselves either daunted or turned off by the mention of "Martha Stewart." I find many aspects of the magazine surprisingly accessible, however. For example, I taught myself how to make jam several years ago based on step-by-step instructions in one of her magazines--something I'd never seen anywhere else. Now you may be thinking, "Right--like when do I have time to make jam?" I don't have time to make jam anymore either--but although there are certainly "snobby" aspects to the Martha Stewart empire, I credit her for actually being more down-to-earth than most people give her credit for. Making jam, for example, wasn't as difficult and out-of-reach as I'd made it out to be in my mind. Her recipes aren't that outlandish--as, for example, you're likely to find in Gourmet or Food and Wine. Certainly, one can be cynical and criticize Martha for sentimentalizing the idea of the Home--but on another level, I find that she reminds me to slow down and invest energy in this place I call my Home. No, I can't tackle all her projects--but they aren't as ridiculous as they've been parodied to be. Her step-by-step instructions are excellent.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
She's an inspiration, December 20, 2001
By A Customer
I've bought all her magazines since 1997 from Living to Weddings to Baby to Kids to all her Special Issues and I love them all. I've kept every single issue. Martha is a teacher. I've learnt how to make bridal bouquets with her awesome step-by-step instructions (Summer 2000, page 128) How to clean hard-wood floors (Sept '01, page 130) annual gardening issues (March). Articles featuring various types of tomatoes, squash, eggplants, peppercorns, mustard ... the list is endless. Her 101 articles is awesome too, e.g. pumpkin pie 101, fried chicken 101. I enjoy cooking from her recipes (and also Julia Child's 'Way to Cook' - whom I admire tremendously as well). Cooking, gardening, house-keeping ... it's all a passion, it's how well you want to do it. I wasn't happy just slapping dinner down on the table, each time I cook something, I want it to be even better than the first time I did it. Martha shows you how and she truly loves to teach, when you read the magazine from cover to cover, you will realise that. You will learn many things. Read about a 97 year old gentleman hybridzing at least 150 Siberian Iris, how he did it etc. (March '99) you will be amazed at the colors and his energy. I look forward to seeing it at the news-stands every month. I hope you do too.
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