Saturday, March 6, 2010

Martha Stewart and NYC

As many of you are aware, I LOVE Martha Stewart. I have received many important gifts over the years that document big events in my life with Martha Stewart suggestions - upon getting married - hand carved bowl by a man in Maine that Martha uses; buying my first home - Martha Stewart Cleaning book. She has been with me to mark some of the big events in my life, so when I was able to get tickets to a taping of her show, I wasn't missing it. Since Jennie was setting off to Scotland (nice excuse) Matt was my partner in crime for this 24 hour trip to NYC. Here is how it all happened:

Matt and I hoped a bus to NYC from DC and were able to enjoy 4 hours of carefree traveling - no back seat driver, no fighting over the radio - pure bliss when someone else is at the wheel. Upon arrival we checked in to the New Yorker Hotel. This isn't the most amazing hotel, see reference later to the most amazing hotel, but it was clean, nice, and I got an amazing rate. We were in the best location as well - we were less than a block from Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. We opted for a walking tour that night to find the perfect place for dinner. Now we are not foodies, but we love some good entertainment while we dine - so The Hard Rock Cafe it was. Where else can you listen to music and look at amazing artifacts - we were sitting next to Ringo's drum set! Plus we were able to see the guitar wall which was neat
The next morning it was get ready for Martha! We headed over to her studio an hour before the doors opened and we were 7 and 8 in line - would have been 1 and 2 but I was thinking we could grab a starbucks first. It was fun standing in line waiting to enter. We were shuffled in and went through security and then placed in a holding room where you could purchase Martha Stewart products and watch a previous taping. When it was time to enter we were escorted in and got to see GK, Frenchie, and Sharky her dogs. The set is beautiful and super clean. Everything is super organized and of course fabulous. The guests were Jill McGowen a desigener from Portland, ME; some chef; and Victoria Stillwell the host of It's Me or the Dog. Victoria was there to do puppy training! The show was great and Matt and I had front row seats. It was fun as she did her glitter craft right in front of us - I made eye contact and smiled but she did not return the happy gesture - but hey, I don't like her because she's nice - so no upset there - Matt was nervous to make eye contact with her for fear of turning to stone!

It was such a fun show




Once we left the show with our LL Bean toiletry bags and our copies of her newest book: Fresh Flavor Fast, we were off on a mad dash to explore the city. Here is our route!Our tour of the city included stops at White Castle, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dylan's Candy Bar, FAO Swartz, and the Park Plaza for afternoon tea.






For Grammie - The Red Sox on top of the Yankees!