Martha and Me

I'm so glad that I went. Even though common sense and my already-hectic life weighed against it, two Thursdays ago I ventured to Manhattan to be a part of the audience on the Martha Stewart Show. She was having a special show dedicated to blogging and I was lucky enough to be invited to hang out with blogging buddies that I rarely get to see IRL like Niri and Prissy Mommy and StyleMom and Sunkissed Mommy, The Broke Socialite, and Jeanne - I could go on.

Martha's studio was fantastic (really, was I expecting anything less?). It was bright and spacious and perfectly decorated. The test kitchen caused this wannabe-foodie to gasp when I walked in, as did the kitchen set, which was bigger and more glamorous than my actual kitchen. Martha's definitely doin' the damn thing.

As for the domestic diva herself? She was much better in person than I expected. I don't know what it is, but when I actually (try to) watch her show on TV, I immediately get bored. I don't know if it's because I don't really care for crafting or gardening or if its the monotone nature of her voice, but I just can't get with it. I'll buy her cookbooks and magazines all day though. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that not only does she have a personality, she's actually a firecracker!

Her show guests included "The Whatever Girls" (her daughter Alexis Stewart and Jennifer Koppelman-Hutt), food blogger Chez Pim, journalist Brian Williams and actor Jeff Blumenkrantz. An awesome-smelling pad thai; postively gorgeous Orange-Almond cake; and some random craft later (see? I told you); the cameras turned off and Martha turned it on for a fun Q&A session. It ended with a roar of laughter and applause as she hiked her leg up 'pon the table to show us her 6-inch, gold, Yves St-Laurent stilettos. She's the real deal.

Oh and I must note that the music in her studio was live and direct. I mean they were playing hip hop, reggae, rock and it was pumpin'. To top it all off, on our way out we each got a copy of Pim's new book: The Foodie Handbook (yes, I almost died). In fact, I read almost all of of it on the ride home to DC. It's now next to my bed where I can catch a glimpse of the wonderful goodness that lies inside right before I go to bed and first thing in the morning. Yes, I realize that I have issues.

After the show, I had a lovely lunch with StyleMom and SunKissed Mommy - at a Thai place of course - since we had Thai on the brain after smelling Chez Pim's creations on the set. All in all it was a great trip, well worth the 4-hour ride each way.