Martha Stewart Living November 2018

EVERY YEAR I LOOK FORWARD to Thanksgiving, and while the actual day and meal itself are wonderful, that’s not my favorite part. For nearly an entire week, my family has the rare chance to be together under one roof at my mother’s home in Wisconsin. It’s that time—spent creating menus and shopping lists, cooking and baking, kicking back and laughing, eating and, well, eating—that helps the miles between us and the months apart fall away. It’s always a comforting and familiar sight to find my brother at the kitchen table in the early hours of the mornings. He’s no longer studying like when we were kids, but analyzing stocks, and the coffee is usually brewing and the newspaper is already there. It tickles both of us to see our little…

| ON THE ROAD | HOLIDAY INNS If you’re traveling over the next two months, book a room so incredible, Mom and Dad will want to stay with you, not the other way around. Outside the Twin Cities, there’s Lora (shown), a hotel built into the caves and vaulted warehouses of a former brewery on the St. Croix River. Here, three equally exciting new places to temporarily call home. Stillwater, Minnesota; lorahotel.com NEW YORK CITY The Ace Hotel’s sleek younger sibling, Sister City, has bright, stylish rooms with built-in details inspired by Finnish saunas and bento boxes. sistercitynyc.com CHICAGO Stays at Michigan Avenue’s St. Jane, an art-deco gem named after Jane Addams, support NICU babies via the Jackson Chance Foundation. stjanehotel.com CHARLESTON, S.C. The best address on King Street used to belong to the city library. Hotel Bennett, on…

I Spy Specifics Try describing a person you know using only concrete details. “Ban all abstract adjectives, like beautiful or boring,” she says. Jot down the look of her eyebrows and her smile. Use Your Nose And eyes, and ears. “Sensory details—what you see, smell, touch, or hear—get you into a story,” says Bender. Take in the trees on the park trail, the aroma of the fire. The Waiting Game “Novels can take so many forms, but they are all, on some level, about urgency,” says Bender. Make up a character, or picture someone you know. What is she waiting for? What does she want? Write it down.…

For the past 40 years or so, I have been the proud and loving owner of dozens of animals. At least 20 cats, 25 dogs, 10 chinchillas, and scores of canaries and parakeets have lived happily in my homes. And two ponies, three donkeys, 10 horses, many sheep and goats, and hundreds of chickens, geese, turkeys, guinea fowl, quail, peacocks, and homing pigeons have populated my sheds, barns, and stables. Just thinking about this amazing group astonishes me, and I realize how much I’ve learned from caring for them all, and how much joy they’ve given me. My first pet as a young, married woman and mother was an intelligent city cat we adopted named Chigi-Toto, who was known to answer the phone on occasion, often confusing callers. My first dog…

| CELEBRATE | CLEAR WINNER Many people say grace at dinner, but you’ll feel thankful well before if you prep the table with this easy yet eye-catching, wiltproof centerpiece. Simply place candles on small glass dishes, and cover them with curvy lamp chimneys (which you can find for dollars at hardware or antiques stores). Fill in spare spaces with fruit and foliage, and when guests arrive, light the wicks and bask in the glow. THE DETAILS: Antique Lamp Supply clear chimneys, from $9 each for 3" by 10", antiquelampsupply.com. Bee Hive Candles beeswax pillar candles, from $10 each for 2" by 4", beehivecandles.com. Crate & Barrel Moderno glass dinner plates, $3 each, crateandbarrel.com. Luigi Bormioli Sublime water glasses, $35 for 4, luigibormioli.com. Mepra Due Ice Oro flatware, $160 for a 5-piece set, barneys.com.…

IDEA NO. 1 Golden Touches Warm metallic accents and a little greenery bring out the sparkle in earthy, neutral plates. The sleek, modern flatware coordinates with the surprise tool that we chose to fasten the magnolia-leaf napkin band: a knitting needle. To assemble it, simply punch holes at either end of the leaf with a hole punch, and write on a guest’s name with a gold paint pen. Then set the leaf atop the napkin, and thread the needle into the leaf, underneath the napkin, and back up through the leaf to secure it. THE DETAILS: Royal Crown Derby dinner plate, in Flamed Caramel, $46; and salad plate, in Pressed Mulberry, $38, jungleeny.com. Hawkins New York Highland flatware, in Gold, $90 for a 5-piece set, hawkinsnewyork.com. Studio Natural Ieva Krakel linen napkin, in…