{show + tell} The Martha Stewart Show , The Full Report

There's only one thing better than being told you've been invited to be a guest on the The Martha Stewart Show--your mom calling to say she's flying out to come with you. 


When the producers of The Martha Stewart Show called to ask me to come on the show for the spring wedding special, with an entire audience made up of newlyweds and newlyweds-to-be, I was so excited. Imagine, getting to meet the perfect audience for my book face to face?  András is such a huge part of my book, and everything I do, I knew I wanted him there with me. But, the week I was set to go on the show, he had to make a last-minute business trip to Costa Rica. As disappointed as I was that he couldn't be there, there are so many parts of that day that no one could have enjoyed better than Mom. 


For starters, only mom could have truly appreciated my habit of splurging for black car whenever I have to be someone important (a huge extravagance to most more practical men) and how much fun it is to pretend you're fancy, if just for the day. Only mom could have adored the darling row of eager newlyweds waiting outside the studio when we arrived as much as I did. And, only mom could have truly relished the hallways lined with vintage of modeling photos of Martha herself that led to the greenroom. 

Only mom would have remembered to take photos of me studying my notes, and reminded me to nibble a little bit from the cheese tray they brought us so my stomach wouldn't growl on live TV. She was calm and sweet, as she always is, while I was giddy as a school girl taking behind the scenes photos of the set littered with paper lanterns and bowls of eggs collected from Martha's farm earlier that day. 

I couldn't be luckier that my friend and former Food Network colleague, Nikki Elkins, who has run the kitchens on the show for the last 6 years, was there styling the set, making sure my 1000-Layer Chocolate Cookies looked as lovely as ever, and that everything I needed for my demo was an arms reach away. And then came the moment I'd be waiting for -- the escort into the makeup room. 


There's nothing like a professional hair and makeup duo to make you feel confident and glamorous. It is such a treat to sit back and watch your best self appear in the mirror. And just minutes before I was set to go on, the show's producer, Courtney Knapp, decided we better spin my mom through hair and makeup too, just in case Martha asked to meet her on air. And guess what? She did!  


The show was a wonderful blur, fast and fantastic. Martha was gracious and so personable, and hearing that she loves my cookies was ultimate flattery. It truly couldn't have been more fun. 

After the show, we were all dressed up with no plans but to pick up Greta about an hour later. So, we did what is only natural for gals in false eyelashes and silk shirts, we went to the farmers market. We decided to have an impromptu photo shoot while we were all glammed up, but there was only one tiny glitch -- out coats, garment bags and my guest swag bag full of Martha Stewart Cleaning supplies were weighing us down. Mom helped me charm Chris, a young farmer from Mountain Sweet Berry Farm selling tiny heirloom potatoes and chips, into letting us stash our goods by his van for our very official photo shoot.


It turns out Chris' artisan chips were amazing, so we bought three bags, and desperately tried not to think about eating them the whole subway ride home (glamorous girls don't eat on the subway).


Greta, mom and I celebrated with teeny tiny chocolate cupcakes from our neighborhood favorite, Astor Bake Shop, before we came home and made fast farmer's market feast of baby La Vala potatoes, oyster mushrooms, kale, orecchiette and purple sage, a send off to winter and one insane, crazy rich week in our lives. 

I can't think of a more fun memory or day to share with my sweet mom just weeks before Mother's Day. You can see her and I both on the show tomorrow morning.


Tune in to the Hallmark Channel tomorrow morning, May 8
10 am Easter Standard Time /9 Central 


xo

Sarah