"Martha" Day

Above: Outside of Martha's Chelsea studio in NYC.

Below: Me in the audience after the show. What I would have given to explore the set! (We were quickly kicked out immediately after the show.)


On Wednesday morning we attended a live taping of The Martha Stewart Show. I've said it before a million times, but I'll say it again: I love Martha! This was the thing I was looking to the most during our trip to NYC. NYC is great, but being in the same room as Martha....!!! I could not wait to see her studio in real life bc on TV is looks so beautiful. And, not to disappoint, it was even more beautiful in real life! Sheer perfection. I love the color of all of the walls, so I'm considering repainting my office/craft room to match her studio. It's a creamy grey/khaki color. When her show (the "new" Martha Stewart show) first came on in '05, I researched and researched until I could find the name of the paint color and I finally found it! I've never forgotten the name of it and am only hoping I can still find it since her paints are no longer at Sherwin-Williams. Lowes carries her paint now and they have different names!

I have always been curious to see how a taping of her show works bc she's simply flawless! It was amazing to see like 20 people rush out on a commercial break, clean up the kitchen, bring out the new ingredients for the next several steps, fluff her hair and touch up her makeup, etc., etc., and be ready for the live show to start again. We were taught when to clap, for how long to clap, how loud to clap (start out soft and get loud, or vice versa, or a really loud, thunderous clap), etc. It was all so fascinating.

Below: Martha after filming ended. We weren't allowed to take pics during the show, but afterwards she took a couple of questions from the audience (no, I totally chickened out! I was all prepared too!) and chatted for a bit before we were kicked out. She was going to film another show later that afternoon that we could have stuck around for, but I was the only one who wanted to do that. Rats! Julianne Moore was going to be on it, and I'm guessing they were doing a craft since her craft room had stuff set out for a craft. (I missed seeing that episode since we were out and about the rest of the week.) During our show, she didn't craft. Rats again! Martha and John Baricello did make some little hand pies, her niece did a yoga segment with her, and a plants guy did a segment on carniverous plants. Nothing was overly exciting about any of those, but I did learn some tips for my pie crusts.


Anyway, it was all so beautiful and our time there just flew by. Martha is actually very pretty and TALL. I was so surprised by this when she first came onto the set. Her hair was very va-va-voomish and she just seemed so confident and "together." Duh! Isn't that what she's known for?! You can't tell any of this stuff by watching her on TV, though. I love her, but I gotta admit that I always figured that in real life she was probably very simple, "granola," almost kind of frumpy in terms of her appearance. I was wrong! She's pretty and has long, long skinny legs.

She has great taste and her studio reflected that. I'm so envious of her kitchen, but even more so of her craft room! Everything is perfectly organized and so cute! I'm not totally loving the baskets on the back wall. Last season they were pretty boxes of ribbons that matched the season. Still so PERFECT!!

Above: On the table above are all of the crafts from her craft line at Michael's which I ADORE. Each time there is a coupon for 40% off any item, I buy an item. My goal is to eventually have the entire collection. It's always changing, but there's many items that are there year-round. Some of the tools aren't so cheap, but they're good quality and always come in great packaging. She never stepped foot in the craft room during our show, but I am guessing it was for the next taping bc she doesn't leave this stuff out on every show.

So, to end this post, let me just say that it was the thrill of a lifetime to get to attend her show. Yes, I may have been one of the youngest ladies there, but who cares. I've been a fan of Martha's since late in high school. I admit it, I'm an old lady by heart! She's just so darn fascinating and a wealth of creativity. After the show we went to Macy's on 34th Street (which is the largest store in the world, btw, literally) and I bought some kitchen gadgets from Martha's line. :)