Martha meets Martha

Today I met Martha Stewart!

I received this e-mail advertising the grand opening of Michael's in Manhattan. I purchased her Encyclopedia of Crafts (on sale at Costco) a few months ago and thought it would be a great idea to go and have Her Majesty sign it. Since I had never been to a book signing, I didn't know what to expect (so I didn't have the heart to drag anyone else along). I drove to Manhattan, miraculously found free parking (only a block away), and quickly headed toward the store.

I thought there would be a super long line, but on the contrary. Just an hour before the book signing I saw only about 40 people or so, maybe a little more. I made my way toward the back of the line with Liam securely strapped in his stroller and hoped that the hour would pass quickly.

To my surprise I was immediately escorted to a newly formed "mommies-with-babies-in-strollers" line with me as the first customer on the line!! YES!! I could hardly contain my excitement.
So, there we were, Liam and I waiting for Martha Stewart to walk by and take her seat at the table set up right in front of the press. Thankfully, the hour surprisingly passed quickly, of course, with the aid of a wide selection of snacks, drinks and small quiet toys that I packed for my wiggly toddler.

Then, she walked by with a small entourage. She looked like she was actually more interested in "shopping" and the store displays rather than in the book signing. I pointed her out to Liam, who was already familiar with her face from having seen her show on TV with me. All I got from him was a sort of half smile with a glazed stare.


She walked over to the table right in front of the press and after a few photos of her holding up the books she is currently promoting (Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Crafts and her latest cookbook, Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home) I was called up first!! Yay!!


I thought she was very friendly. She seemed genuinely grateful that I was there and that I had purchased one of her books. I'm sure I said a few things like, "I'm a big fan...I love your show...Thanks for all you do...Thanks for signing my book..." But I was so star struck that I can hardly remember the small chat except to say that she was very friendly and it is true that the TV cameras add ten pounds (i.e. this woman is definitely not overweight). She said Liam was adorable, once again Liam had that same sort of half smile with a glazed stare, and then she thanked us for coming all the way out from Brooklyn.

(While he enjoyed his little project, he was a little put off by all the glitter stuck to his hands)

After she signed my book, we were walked directly to a crafts table set up with a few of her crafts from her collection. I helped Liam decorate a miniature pumpkin with glitter, helped him make a card with some fancy hole punchers, write his name with a glue "pen" and then sprinkled glitter on it. I knew from the get go that it would be terribly messy, but it was a fun and happy moment.

On her way out, she smiled as she recognized us and walked right up to Liam (still in his stroller) and said, "You guys are still here! Wow! Just look at you all covered in glitter!" to which I responded, "Oh yes, and he might have eaten some, too." She laughed heartily, said good bye, and walked away.

Finally free from the stroller, this is his happy face on our way out of Michael's, resembling mine after meeting Martha!

We had so much fun! Everything went smoothly, and well, in a word, it was all just- (as Martha Stewart herself would say) perfect.