More than 2600 people were in attendance at this year’s annual Dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association in Washington, D.C. This Association, WHCA, is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the President of the United States.
The first WHCA Dinner was held in 1921. It is traditionally held during the last weekend of April. 16 presidents have attended at least one Dinner beginning with Calvin Coolidge in 1924. I’ve attended several over the years and always enjoy seeing other celebrities, politicians, public figures, and media personalities.
Here are some photos of the event and around DC, enjoy.
Whenever I travel to our nation’s capital, I always take photos of the historical buildings and monuments. The Lincoln Memorial is a US national memorial built to honor our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln. It is located on the western end of the National Mall across from the Washington Monument, and is built in the form of a neoclassical temple.
And if you haven’t yet visited, inside is a large seated sculpture of Abraham Lincoln and inscriptions of two well-known speeches by Lincoln, the “Gettysburg Address” and his second inaugural address.
This is the United States Library of Congress. The library’s primary mission is to research inquiries made by members of Congress, which is carried out through the Congressional Research Service. It also houses and oversees the United States Copyright Office and is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country.
If one looks closely, one can read the engraving above the front entrance of the United States Supreme Court building. It reads “Equal Justice Under Law.”
This is The South Portico of the White House. It was constructed by James Hoban in 1824 during the presidency of James Monroe. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman added the Truman Balcony to the second floor, a private porch enjoyed by First Families ever since.
As day turned to night, many of the monuments and buildings are lit up. Here is the Washington Monument, the most prominent structure in Washington, DC. The Washington Monument is an obelisk on the National Mall built to commemorate George Washington. It stands just over 555-feet tall and 55-feet wide at its base.
This is the back of the Lincoln Memorial – so brightly lit, one can see it clearly from nearby roads.
The US Capitol sits atop Capitol Hill at the eastern end of the National Mall. It is, of course, the meeting place of the United States Congress.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is always held at the International Ballroom in the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC.
My longtime publicist and friend, Susan Magrino, my agent, Ben Levine, and I were seated at table #234. I was a guest of DailyMail.com.
Here are members of the United States Marine Band and Joint Armed Forces Color Guard – all entering the ballroom with their instruments in tow.
Everyone was taking phone photos. Here I am in the ballroom before dinner began.
Susan and I stopped for this photo before sitting at our table.
In this photo I am joined by political journalist, author, and ABC News’ Chief Washington Correspondent, Jonathan Karl.
And here I am with Sean Walsh, Chief Brand Officer for DailyMail.com.
Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson and I greeted each other while waiting for President Biden’s address. (Photo by Sean Walsh)
Did you see this image on my Instagram page @marthastewart48? Kim, Pete, and I stopped for some photos together – this one went viral. (Photo by Sean Walsh)
At the beginning of the event the United States Marine Band and the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard played “Hail to the Chief” – the official song welcoming the United States President. This event was the first after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. It was nice to see everyone who attended.
I hope you all had a festive and enjoyable Cinco de Mayo!
Yesterday, I hosted a lovely Cinco de Mayo party here at my Bedford, New York farm. The event celebrated my exciting partnership with Baccarat. Together, we created a timeless Collection of exquisite crystal pieces including goblets, tumblers, a pitcher, and an ice bucket. To toast the launch of this new line, we worked with Casa Dragones tequila to offer more than 20 media professionals and influencers my delicious "Martha-ritas." My friend, Chef Pierre Schaedelin of PS Tailored Events and I planned a tasty menu of bites including tacos, quesadillas, and tamales. We also set a buffet table of chips, salsa, and guacamole using Martha Stewart products from Martha.com. It was a fun time for everyone.
I hosted the event to celebrate my partnership with Baccarat and my new collection of fine crystal glassware. Some of the fun decor included these pool floats.
We added some by my pool. On the right are old staddle stones originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. These look like giant stone mushrooms, but square in shape.
We decorated my new pool pavilion with banners in fun red and blue colors. My new yew table was made by master artisan Peter Billow, owner of Peter H. Billow Fine Woodworking in Brooklyn, New York. The yew wood is from an old tree we cut down at my former East Hampton home.
On the table – bowls of homemade tortilla chips, salsas, and guacamole for guests to enjoy. Look for these outdoor bowls on Martha.com soon.
Rattan placemats and flatware caddies are also available at Martha.com.
I also made my classic guacamole for everyone – avocado, lime juice, onion, jalapeños, fresh cilantro, cherry tomatoes, salt, pepper, and chopped hard boiled eggs from my chickens. Find the recipe on Martha.com.
Here is Chef Pierre with his sous chefs Lazaro and Moises – all from PS Tailored Events. They’re standing behind my Arteflame Classic grill – it’s made of half-inch carbon steel and corten “weathering” steel with a cooktop that heats from the center out. And look, as a finishing touch, Arteflame carved out my name on top.
Chef Pierre made delicious tacos on my grill – beef, chicken, and seafood.
Here they are ready to serve to our guests.
We also had tamales made by my longtime housekeeper in East Hampton, Esperanza. A tamale is made of masa, a dough made from corn, which is steamed in a corn husk. Tamales can be filled with meats, cheeses, vegetables, herbs, and chilies.
All the “Martha-ritas” were served in my new Baccarat goblets rimmed with pink Himalayan salt. These goblets were inspired by Baccarat “Nancy” glassware I found at Skylands, my home in Maine. I updated and modernized the design for my Collection.
Pomegranate “Martha-ritas” could not be made fast enough – everyone loved them. It’s made with 2 cups Casa Dragones Blanco, 2 cups fresh lime juice, 1/2 cup Triple Sec, 1/2 cup pomegranate concentrate from our friends at POM Wonderful, ice cubes, pomegranate seeds and a lime wedge to garnish. This recipe is also on Martha.com.
Casa Dragones partnered with us to create this fun event. Here, one can see the crossing horizontal and vertical lines that form a jewel-like decoration on the Baccarat goblets.
Here I am with our own SVP director of food development, Thomas Joseph.
Here’s Moises busy at the grill making tacos.
Bites were served throughout the event – there were no leftovers.
I had pinatas specially made for our party shaped in Casa Dragones boxes and this bottle. I also had one shaped as a goblet.
After our remarks, Baccarat North America President and CEO, Jim Shreve, tried his hand at opening one of the piñatas… blind folded of course.
Baccarat SVP Marketing, Ward Simmons, also took a turn. All the piñatas were filled with mini packs of Martha Stewart CBD gummies.
And all our guests went home with a gift bag of wonderful items including my Baccarat goblets, Casa Dragones Blanco tequila, and a Martha Stewart citrus press from Martha.com. It was a wonderful and very successful event!
Spring is a wonderful time for outdoor entertaining.
Today I am welcoming a group of colleagues, business partners, and influencers to my farm for a special Cinco de Mayo party. The event will be held under my new pavilion located just outside my pool. Preparing for any special gathering takes a lot of effort, a lot of time, and a lot of advanced planning. With so much to do, all hands were on deck yesterday, especially around the pool and in the gardens and orchard - grooming and mulching the tree pits, planting outdoor containers, weeding beneath the hedges, etc.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
I’m “breaking in” the new pavilion and yew table later today when I host the first of many dinners and gatherings outside my pool. The table seats 26 guests. This week, we hung six of my giant staghorn ferns. They look so beautiful here.
Here’s another view of the pavilion from the side. I think this will quickly become a favorite warm weather gathering spot here at the farm.
There are 17 different species of staghorn fern, Platycerium alcicorne. Its common names include elkhorn fern and antelope ears.
Each staghorn fern has antler-like foliage as well as flat, basal leaves. The flat leaves are infertile and turn brown and papery with age. They overlap onto a mounting surface and provide stability for the fern.
Depending on the fern variety, the foliar fronds may droop or be erect. These leaves resemble the horns of a large herbivore.
In preparation for my Cinco de Mayo business party, the grills are taken out of storage and cleaned.
Although it may still be too cold to swim outdoors, all the pool furniture is out and ready to use.
If you haven’t already seen them, these are my staddle stones. I purchased them from the annual NYBG Garden Furniture & Antiques Fair. Staddle stones were originally used in the 17th and 18th centuries as support bases for granaries, hayricks, and game larders. They typically looked like giant stone mushrooms, but mine are square – a more rare and unique version. Guests are always so interested to learn about these staddle stones when they see them at the end of my pool.
I also asked my gardeners to plant a few urns around the pool – these containers are planted with pretty spider agaves.
The spider agave is a small species with long arching and twisting pale-green leaves that taper to a soft point. This garden-friendly species grows 12 to 15 inches tall and eventually forms clumps of plants several feet across.
My orchard surrounding the pool has more than 200 fruit trees. We planted a couple new ones where others did not do well. This is Prunus ‘North Star’ – a sour cherry tree. A dwarf cultivar, it typically grows eight to 10 feet tall. Developed by the University of Minnesota, it is also self-pollinating and a heavy producer of mahogany-red, medium-sized fruit.
As part of the orchard maintenance and spring cleanup, I wanted the tree pits around each fruit tree to be expanded. Larger tree pits will help to keep the mowers at a safe distance, so branches are not disturbed.
The outdoor grounds crew uses our Little Wonder gas powered edger to create the straight lines for the square tree pits. This machine is a single purpose machine used to make good, crisp lines along the edges of garden beds. We’ve been using this handy and dependable machine for years.
Pasang carefully removes each piece of sod.
Here, one can see the straight, square tree pit.
All the tree pits are made to the same size, so the area looks uniform.
Next, Pasang adds a pile of mulch to each pit using one of our new Scenic Road wheelbarrows. The mulch is made right here at the farm – look how dark and rich it is. This mulch is also combined with tree mold and manure.
Phurba spreads the mulch around the pit, being careful not to put too much around the tree. As the saying goes, “bare to the flare.” The tree’s flare is where the trunk gets wide and meets the soil line.
Phurba also lightly packs down the mulch so it does not blow away by any winds or by our leaf blowers.
This outdoor chore takes a few days to complete, but I think it is worth all the effort – the trees look so handsome.
This view shows four of the square pits beneath the fruit trees. They will look perfect for the party.
And like clock work, some will also be blossoming. Please stay tuned for my next blog when I share photos from the party itself! Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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