Martha! Martha! Martha!

These past 3 1/2 weeks have been torture for me as our computer hard drive went on the blink...

I was already behind on posting things even before the computer crisis hit, so I'm super behind on postings...but it feels great to be clicking away on these keys again...

During the Thanksgiving holiday, my mom came for a visit.

She did this last year as well and both times were so much fun...It gives us a chance to spend Thanksgiving together as well as celebrate some early Christmas traditions since we aren't together for Christmas.

A few months ago, I requested tickets for the Martha Stewart Show. Fortunately, my first date request (the Tuesday before Thanksgiving) was granted!

I invited my mom as well as my sweet friends, Heather and Angela to join me...

Angela lives in NYC so my mom, Heather and I just took the train into the city and met her there.

The studio was located in Chelsea so we decided to get a bite to eat in the area...

We ended up going to this cute, hip little market for lunch...

There were lots of specialty shops and cafe's in Chelsea Market.

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this fabulous cake in one of the bakeries...

After lunch, we headed on over to the studio. We were all a bit irritated that the Martha Stewart staff treated everyone like herds of cattle..I don't know why this surprised me.

They were all very "hungry with power" (as Jill would say!) ...

The studio set was absolutely beautiful!

I took a few pictures at different angles...Could you just die over those copper pots?!

Unfortunately, we weren't able to photograph once the show started (too bad, because Claire Daines was the guest star that day and she was so cute!)

This was a shot of the seasonal set where they featured the craft segment.

We each left with a pop up book called "White Noise"....

It was so much fun to all be together for this fun experience...

After the show, Martha had a question and answer session...

It wasn't overly riveting...it was clear that she ONLY did this out of pure obligation. She didn't interact or even acknowledge the audience any other time during the show except for the end.

The highlight of the day was actually what came after the show....

My friend, Angela knows the senior style editor for Martha Weddings and she was able to arrange for us to have a tour of Martha Stewart Omnimedia...(where all of the magic happens--I.E.--Martha Weddings, Martha Stewart Living magazine, Body and Soul, etc. are all published...)

While we were waiting in the lobby, Emeril Lagasse came strolling down...so apparently he does something there as well...I forgot to ask...

There is actually a place that exists for real and not just in my dreams...also known as The Library!!!!...it was here in this warehouse that I experienced a major case of the greeds....for it is in here that EVERYTHING is stored that would ever need to be used for the show set, or magazine spreads...

I was having some serious heart palpitations/anxiety attacks just looking at all of this...

Whenever you are finished using one of the items, you just return it on the cart....

There were collections of every kind....from candlesticks to birdcages....

to clocks...

fabrics, rugs, and flooring....

cake stands...

fabulous painted furniture of every kind....

ramekins and other thingy's....

white and creamware!!!....

and more cake stands...

We got to catch a glimpse of their glorious craft room...(can you imagine having any resource at your disposal?!)

and MARTHA'S OFFICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I kid you not!

P.S. while we were looking at all of the offices, we passed by a room where several people were meeting and Martha was in there....!

The view from her office which overlooks Chelsea Piers

...you can see the Statue of Liberty off in the distance...

This was Darci Miller's office (she's the editor for Martha Weddings)...

Behold!--the test kitchen! Glorious!!

After our special tour that far exceeded my expectations, Heather, Angela, my mom, me, Katie Hatch (the senior style editor) and her assistant were standing by the outer door just chatting for a few minutes when we heard a voice saying, "What are you girls up to?" Yes, my friends....it was indeed Martha....and I almost pooped my pants.

I couldn't think of anything intelligent to say, and I quickly became flustered when my mother started chanting (as she was walking out) "Ask her about her chickens! Ask her about her chickens!" (I'm getting a few bantam hens in the spring, but seriously, this was soooo not the person nor the place to talk chickens!)

I so desperately wanted to get a picture with her, but I didn't feel right about asking since we were in a place where tourists generally aren't allowed...

We ended our evening with a fabulous Thai dinner and headed home.

So there you have it...a dream come true kind of day...
This was one of those Bucket List kind of things, I'd say...

***Are you a Martha fan?

***What section in the "Library" would you have lingered in?

***Would this have been a day you would have enjoyed?