It's a new year....
Make it the best 2012 of all the 2012's
5 Bloopers from 2011
2011 has been a crazy amazing year! We have enjoyed every minute of sharing this blog with you. We've only been at this for a little while so theres not too many bloopers but it's still fun :)
We are bursting at the seems with ideas for 2012! We can't wait to share them all with you!!!
14 Cake Cookies
Who doesn't need a cookie during the holidays?! I know I do. I have to tell you my inspiration for using this particular cookie recipe. Last Christmas I was invited to a cookie exchange at a friend's house. I really wanted to take a beautiful, intricate cookie. And I did...they were gorgeous...and very intricate -- AND extremely time consuming. I wanted to kill those cookies after I was done. I was supposed to take 6 dozen cookies. I stayed up for hours the night before the party just finishing my cookies, and I ended up with only about 3 dozen.
This year, I was feeling more on the quick and easy but still super delicious, type of cookie. Three ingredients...that's it. This is seriously the easiest cookie you will ever bake and -- soft, moist, full of flavor -- THEY ARE SO GOOD! I made 6 dozen cookies, 4 different kinds all in about 45 minutes. Do I need to say that again? The only question now is......what in the heck am I going to do with all these cookies!! ;D
Cake Cookie Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350
Mix together:
Cake mix box of any flavor (each mix will make about 24 cookies)
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
Then stir in:
Any number of mix-ins of your choice
Then, bake for 10 minutes (make them no bigger than a slightly rounded tablespoon...they puff up!)
I made the recipe 3 times (yes all in 45 minutes) and I did chocolate, butter golden, and spice cake mixes. I put butterscotch chips in the devil's food, M&M's in the Golden and also Macadamia Nut's and white chips in the golden (I just split the dough in half), and raisins and walnuts in the spice cake. There are infinite ways you could make your cookies. It was really hard for me to pick, but I will be making more for my cookie exchange in December, so that should be fun to do completely different kinds! Happy baking!
This year, I was feeling more on the quick and easy but still super delicious, type of cookie. Three ingredients...that's it. This is seriously the easiest cookie you will ever bake and -- soft, moist, full of flavor -- THEY ARE SO GOOD! I made 6 dozen cookies, 4 different kinds all in about 45 minutes. Do I need to say that again? The only question now is......what in the heck am I going to do with all these cookies!! ;D
Cake Cookie Recipe:
Preheat oven to 350
Mix together:
Cake mix box of any flavor (each mix will make about 24 cookies)
2 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
Then stir in:
Any number of mix-ins of your choice
Then, bake for 10 minutes (make them no bigger than a slightly rounded tablespoon...they puff up!)
I made the recipe 3 times (yes all in 45 minutes) and I did chocolate, butter golden, and spice cake mixes. I put butterscotch chips in the devil's food, M&M's in the Golden and also Macadamia Nut's and white chips in the golden (I just split the dough in half), and raisins and walnuts in the spice cake. There are infinite ways you could make your cookies. It was really hard for me to pick, but I will be making more for my cookie exchange in December, so that should be fun to do completely different kinds! Happy baking!
4 All I Ever Wanted
Did you get what you wanted this Christmas morning? Michael McLean's song says it all for me.
"All I ever wanted, all I ever needed, everything I hoped, and all the things I prayed for, couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given. I've been given what I need.
"A mansion on a hill, or love like in the movies. Perfect little dreams, where no one has a problem. Instead of all those thing I thought I really wanted, I've been given what I need.
"Even when I didn't understand, what I thought you had in your hand, thank you for rejecting my demands, and always giving me the better part.
"All I ever wanted, I all I ever dreamed of, everything I hoped, and all the things I prayed for, couldn't hold a candle to what I've been given, I'VE BEEN GIVEN WHAT I NEED."
-Michael Mclean
I love Christmas for much the same reasons as most people love this time of year. Baking, singing, gift wrapping, jingle bells, falling snow... you get the idea. And more specifically, during this season, my family and I celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. He gave me everything. EVERYTHING. I say that, knowing that I don't even fully comprehend it, and yet, at times I still find myself being greedy and ungrateful and wanting more, more, MORE. This is one of my favorite songs and I find it extremely comforting, and it always brings me to tears...happy happy tears because no matter what comes into my life -- wonderful things, hard things, fun things, heartbreaking things -- I know that God is in control. He gives me what I need, and that is incomparable to the things I want.
5 Chocolate Pretzel Wreath
We've talked many time before about our mom's genius...here's another one for ya :) Alright, our mom is kind of obsessed with chocolate covered pretzels, and she often likes to give them out to people for Christmas. This year she took the cuteness factor up a notch by making these wreath pretzels! So cute!
what you need:
Melting chocolate
Pretzels
wax paper
A bottle (something to drizzle your chocolate over the pretzels)
and anything else you may want with it! M&M's, gummy bears, chocolate molds even ribbon or bows to make it look cute!
Melting chocolate
Pretzels
wax paper
A bottle (something to drizzle your chocolate over the pretzels)
and anything else you may want with it! M&M's, gummy bears, chocolate molds even ribbon or bows to make it look cute!
Lay your pretzels out in a circle on your wax paper...
Melt your chocolate...
Drizzle your chocolate over your "wreath" making sure to connect the edges with the chocolate. We wanted to do it in green to make it look more like a wreath but didn't have any green chocolate, but I thought they were all still super adorable.
Get creative! We had a ton of different ones that everyone made, Janae even made a star out of the pretzel sticks! But they happened to get eaten before photos were taken, haha like I said, there are people in this house obsessed with chocolate covered pretzels. Janae will have to show you her awesome star sometime though.
aaaaand here's a picture of the cake my mom put one on....just because it's awesome.
Merry Christmas Eve!!!!!
5 Posole...a Christmas Eve Tradition
I pronounce this Poh-SO-leh -- although, I've heard it said different ways and spelled different ways. Say it, spell how you please, this is one way. Meet my absolute FAVORITE food. A New Mexican soup made with pork and hominy. Yes, if someone put me on an island and told me to choose one thing to have with me, it would be Posole, no matter how it's pronounced/spelled. The End.
No, not really the end. I'm gonna share my family's New Mexican version...and the christmas eve tradition!
GOMEZ FAMILY TRADITION
(dear gomez family, please feel free to correct me, add thoughts/memories, or comment on this!)
In my husbands family, it was/is a tradition to eat posole on Christmas Eve during the reenactments of the posadas. A posada is where people will reenact Joseph and Mary trying to find room in the inn. My father-in-law as well as my husband, both remember doing this when they were younger. Family members would follow two people chosen to be Mary and Joseph, around from house to house while singing christmas carols. At each house they would be turned away, until they finally reached one home where they would be allowed in. For my husband's experience, it was his grandmothers house, where he remembered then being let in and served a bowl of Posole.
I was served this recipe at my in-laws house shortly after I was married and ever since then it has been my favorite food. I have been married for going on 8 years and my sweet husband makes this for me every birthday, anniversary, mothers day, or whenever I am craving it. :)
"WHAT'S HOMINY?" you ask.
(again, gomez family, feel free to help our readers out here...you are the experts!)
Very basically, hominy is dried corn soaked in a lye solution to remove the tough outer covering. You might have seen it in the stores, canned. Less commonly, where I live anyway, you can find this dried. Much like beans, canned hominy is ready to be used out of the can, and dried hominy will need to be soaked and cooked for hours. I like both ways. They do have a slightly different flavor. Some people prefer one to another. Faster, cheaper, tastier, ect. They both have their pros and cons.
First, let me help you find the right stuff. For the canned, you can find it in most grocery stores. It will say White Hominy on the can. For dried, you might need to go to a latin/spanish market. (However, just be aware they might not call it hominy, sometimes its called maiz mote.) Here's some help. It's NOT roasted corn, however it will look similar. The second picture shows hominy but its broken down into tiny pieces. Not right either. The third is called maiz mote. That would the right choice. It holds the same shape as the corn, but its lighter in color.
When it's done, it starts to "pop" open. It will look like the picture below.
Drain hominy. From here measure out the 3 cups you will need, then you can put the rest in a freezer bag and pop it in the freezer for whenever you need it!
Salt the cubed pork. Then brown the pork and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes while you make the chile sauce.
Time to make the chile sauce. You need:
about 12 New Mexican Chiles
I fresh garlic clove
1 tsp. salt
1 cup water
No, not really the end. I'm gonna share my family's New Mexican version...and the christmas eve tradition!
GOMEZ FAMILY TRADITION
(dear gomez family, please feel free to correct me, add thoughts/memories, or comment on this!)
In my husbands family, it was/is a tradition to eat posole on Christmas Eve during the reenactments of the posadas. A posada is where people will reenact Joseph and Mary trying to find room in the inn. My father-in-law as well as my husband, both remember doing this when they were younger. Family members would follow two people chosen to be Mary and Joseph, around from house to house while singing christmas carols. At each house they would be turned away, until they finally reached one home where they would be allowed in. For my husband's experience, it was his grandmothers house, where he remembered then being let in and served a bowl of Posole.
I was served this recipe at my in-laws house shortly after I was married and ever since then it has been my favorite food. I have been married for going on 8 years and my sweet husband makes this for me every birthday, anniversary, mothers day, or whenever I am craving it. :)
"WHAT'S HOMINY?" you ask.
(again, gomez family, feel free to help our readers out here...you are the experts!)
Very basically, hominy is dried corn soaked in a lye solution to remove the tough outer covering. You might have seen it in the stores, canned. Less commonly, where I live anyway, you can find this dried. Much like beans, canned hominy is ready to be used out of the can, and dried hominy will need to be soaked and cooked for hours. I like both ways. They do have a slightly different flavor. Some people prefer one to another. Faster, cheaper, tastier, ect. They both have their pros and cons.
First, let me help you find the right stuff. For the canned, you can find it in most grocery stores. It will say White Hominy on the can. For dried, you might need to go to a latin/spanish market. (However, just be aware they might not call it hominy, sometimes its called maiz mote.) Here's some help. It's NOT roasted corn, however it will look similar. The second picture shows hominy but its broken down into tiny pieces. Not right either. The third is called maiz mote. That would the right choice. It holds the same shape as the corn, but its lighter in color.
Just like the name, there are many ways to make this. I chose to use what I found works best for our family; however, there are many Gomez's out there who make this, and they are WELCOME to comment and add their advise, tips, variations, comments, and anything else they'd like to add on this recipe! Thanks Gomez's! Love you all! xoxo
Grandpa Garry's Version
FAST, EASY, TASTY
4 cups water + 4 teaspoons chicken granules
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs cubed pork
2 cans white hominy, rinsed and drained
Dried Hominy Version
SLOW, SATISFYING, SAVORY
4 cups chicken stock
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs cubed pork chops
3 cups of hominy (cooked)
1 teaspoon salt
Toppings for both versions:
dried oregano
onion, chopped
1 chile sauce recipe (see below)
Grandpa Garry's version DIRECTIONS:
Salt the pork then brown it. Add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer for 40 minutes. Meanwhile, make the chile sauce.
Dried hominy version DIRECTIONS:
If you chose to use dried hominy, open the bag and pour it into a crockpot. Cover with PLENTY of water. Soak this over night. (about 8-10 hours) In the morning, rinse the hominy well and cover with plenty of water again. You can't have too much, in fact, throughout the day you might need to add more if you see the hominy is not covered. Cook the hominy on low for about 6-8 hours.
When it's done, it starts to "pop" open. It will look like the picture below.
Drain hominy. From here measure out the 3 cups you will need, then you can put the rest in a freezer bag and pop it in the freezer for whenever you need it!
Salt the cubed pork. Then brown the pork and add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes while you make the chile sauce.Time to make the chile sauce. You need:
about 12 New Mexican Chiles
I fresh garlic clove
1 tsp. salt
1 cup water
CHILE DIRECTIONS:
We like to use these New Mexico Chiles, they aren't extremely hot, and they have a nice flavor. If you want it spicier, then add some of the thin, bright orange chiles (second picture.) My father-in-law uses red chile pods. Really, use what you can find, where ever you live. (remember to check your spanish markets)
Depending on size, I toss about 12, 4" chiles on a sheet pan. Stick them under the broiler on low for about 30 seconds. (DO NOT LEAVE THEM AT THIS POINT. THEY DARKEN AND BURN EXTREMELY FAST -- I would know...you'd think I'd learn after 3 times. Go ahead...laugh.
That's what I get for trying to be like Mark. Or you could do it his dad's way and bake them in a 200 degree oven for 2 minutes. The chiles will darken slightly. This is important because it enhances the flavor.
Next, dump out the seeds. To do this, bend the top stem to snap it off. Then stick a fork inside the chile and turn it to loosen all the seeds. Turn the chile upside down and they pour out easily. Put the chiles in a blender with 1 cup of water, 1 tsp. salt, and 1 fresh garlic clove. Blend until smooth.
Serve the soup with dried oregano, chopped onion, and your homemade chile sauce. (the soup is good without the chile also, if for example, you are serving it to children who don't like spicy food)
Merry Christmas Eve everyone! Thanks for letting me share a tradition. Have fun doing your traditions and making new ones with loved ones!
4 Peanut Butterscotch Bars
Anyone need a last minute treat for Christmas?
I like to call these the 1 CUP OF EVERYTHING bar.
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup sugar
1 cup karo syrup
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup peanuts
1 cup + 1cup rice krispies (ya, I cheated...this has 2 cups)
Measure everything out in bowls so it's ready to go in. We are cooking candy here, so we need to move fairly quickly. Peanuts and rice krispies can go in the same bowl, both kinds of chips, and the sugar and the karo syrup can go straight into a pot on the stove together.
Boil the sugar and karo syrup for 1 minute, stirring. This part makes all the difference if your candy will be soft or hard. I start timing the very minute the edges of the pan start to bubble. But also, the liquid will go from a foggy, whitish color to almost completely clear. It's very quick, so don't leave your pan.
Next, take the pan off the heat and stir in the peanut butter until its melted, throw in the peanuts and krispies and mix quickly. The mixture will be getting stiffer. Quickly pour into a non-stick pan and spread out evenly.
Take both kinds of chips in a microwave safe bowl. Heat in microwave on high for 30 second increments, stirring well in between, just until smooth. Spread evenly over peanut butter candy. Then let this set up until the top chocolate layer is hard again. To speed this process up, you can put the pan in the fridge (but then to cut them, it will be easier at room temperature.)
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
4 Unique Present Bow
Fold each end of the strip to the middle and staple it down. Do it to each of the strips except for the real short one. Tape that one into one loop.
Layer these strips on top of each other from longest to shortest and put your small loop in the middle. Now that you have your bow, tape some feathers down to your present, and place the bow on top. Vwa-lah! Your own homemade wrappage.
7 What I Wore: Caroling Edition
Sabrina's headband: The Pink Ruffle
Jamie's scarf: Forever 21
We decided to mix in a few photos from our caroling trip in with our what I wore today :)
Janae is sharing her What I Wore with Love Notes By Lauryn today!
Janae is sharing her What I Wore with Love Notes By Lauryn today!
28 Martha Stewart and us...The whole story
It started with an email, our blog caught the eye of some FABULOUS people working in the Martha Stewart show. We could not believe it when they said they were considering having us come on the show! They told us not to get our hopes too high, we were just being considered, and they were also looking around for others that they might possibly want to come on the show.
Click here to watch our Google Hangout with Martha Stewart and Vic Gundotra
At the end of this clip Vic Gundotra surprised us with a paid trip to New York to hangout with Martha live on one of her episodes! We were all so surprised! So the craziness began, we started working like crazy sending her team some ideas/photos/tutorials of what might be fun to do on the show. In the end they decided we would be showing Martha how to make our glittered citrus ornaments and we made a bunch and packed them to take to New York with us.
We flew out on a Sunday. Julianna, Janae, and Jamie (and Sabrina) all from Utah, and Jade (and Rosie) left from Maryland.
We met up with Jade at the airport, and The Letter 4 sisters were united once again! We hopped in the taxi and headed to the hotel.
Jade's husband, Mark, and daughter, Chloe rode the bus and met up with us after we got to the hotel. That night we walked down to times square and went shopping in Forever 21 (we couldn't help ourselves!)
Mom and Dad and Julianna's daughter, Kirianna, didn't get to New York till 7 am the next morning.
An intern picked up our ornaments early from us that morning and we walked down the street to the Martha Stewart show!
We went into a side entrance and walked down these halls filled with Martha's gorgeous photos from her modeling days and passed a room filled with all of her many Golden Globe Awards, which was right across the hall from our fabulous dressing room.
We were super excited just being in the dressing room and HUGE bathroom.
You should have seen our moms face when they brought in very pretty (and not cheap) Martha Stewart craft paper and stickers for the kids to play with.
After a trial run it was back to hair and make up for touch ups and then it was the show for real! We came back out and the studio audience had been filled and they all cheered as they announced us and we walked out. (celebrity moment? oh ya) Everyone we met on the set was SO fun! We laughed with all the camera crew and it really felt like we knew these people forever. Our favorite was when right before the show started and one of the crew members came up and told us "Just have fun! It's just TV it's not brain surgery we're not saving lives here." I think at that moment we all completely forgot the audience was there. Martha was fun as you saw during the show and very sweet to us during commercial breaks.
The filming started and everyone clapped as Martha walked in. Our first clip with her she got to know us a little bit better. She couldn't pronounce Janae's name for the life of her but we loved it....
Click here to watch the Get To Know Us video we had with Martha Stewart
Click here to watch Martha and The Letter 4 make citrus ornaments
(video is on left hand side of the page)
Click here to watch Martha and The Letter 4 make Noah's Ark animal stamps
(video is on left hand side of the page)
Not shown on the internet clips, at the end, Martha surprised us with her own sign...
We have her sign it, it's now our favorite :)
Julianna's Personal Experience
The whole experience from the beginning has been so surreal! I kept thinking "oh I'm just dreaming. When I wake up I have to tell my sisters about this, their going to laugh!" Then one moment we're hanging out with Martha & Vic. Oh my gosh! Vic is saying...what?! They want to bring us to New York?! Next I'm hugging Jade in the airport & all four of us our standing there with each other too excited to be bothered with the little fact that eventually we need to grab a taxi to our hotel. So after the screaming, jumping, hugging we find ourselves in front of the hotel. The next thing I know my sisters & I are crafting with Martha & she's telling me mine is a mess haha! One of the best parts about this whole adventure was that it brought us all together. Not only did I get to share it with my sister & parents, but also with my most amazing Kirianna. Yes, I struggled with the fact that I couldn't bring my boys, but really, how could we have possibly spent girl time better any other way!!! (Thank you Nana & Jon for watching the boys & mom & dad for making it possible for Kirianna to be there.) Martha & her fabulous staff welcomed us & our families with opens arms & made us feel at home. The kids kept busy crafting too, the parents, Jade's husband, & Kirianna got to see the show. And my sisters & I were treated like royalty. The hair & make up team couldn't have been better. They were all so sweet & fun & I'm sad I had to leave them there haha. There are so many amazing people we got to work with, you all know who you are:) It was just an unbelievable opportunity to be a part of the Martha Stewart Show.
Jade's Personal Experience
Jamie's Personal Experience:
From the very first I thought it was a joke. I kept waiting for it to hit me, maybe it would hit me after we talked to Martha, after we got on the plane, once we got to New York. I don't think it ever hit me! It's still so crazy to me that it actually happened! I can't believe how nice everyone was to us. I came home from New York incredibly pumped and ready to accomplish a ton. I think I learned so much from this experience because honestly, the thought of even giving a speech in class used to make me want to cry. But I have never had so much fun being in front of so many people. This is not the end of you seeing The Letter 4 sisters make it big time! Thank you to all of Martha Stewart's team and Google for this opportunity!
Janae's Personal Experience:
Sweet mother of pearl! Can we do that again?? :D I woke up 4:00 in the mornin' to drive two hours and hop on a plane for another four hours to go to the big apple, the city that never sleeps, the melting pot, NEW YORK CITY! From the time we had received that very first email, I was set on going. Everyone was saying don't get your hopes up, and it's probably a scam...but "it's just one of those ideas, I'm just psyched out of my mind about...ya' know, it's just one of those ideas where you're like, YES!"
We walked to the building that they film it in, passing happy ladies with Martha Stewart gift bags, thinking I'M GOING ON THAT SHOW!! :D It all went by so fast after that. We took a tour, ran into the crafter of all crafters, Martha, went into hair and makeup with the COOLEST hair and makeup crew you could ever meet, went over what we were going to do with Martha, and was just having the time of my life on a REAL set! I went back to the dressing room while my parents were freaking out because Martha was having her lunch break right across the hall where we couldstalk see her. Then we were walking out with a crowd of complete strangers applauding us!! The show started and it was a breeeeze. Martha's crew is so amazing. They made me feel so comfortable and relaxed that I wasn't nervous in the least bit. I felt like I was making a few crafts with some old friends or something! I could do that everyday if they would let me. I absolutely enjoyed every minute spent in New York. Even if my feet were swollen when I got home. Gross, right? Anywhoo, I LOVED IT!
More New York photos:
and that's the end of that story! We definitely will have lots more adventures to share with you though :)
love,
We kind of decided to try to take fate into our own hands. Jade whipped up a handmade ornament that said "We love Martha" (that we later gave to her) and we took pictures of it and sent them in an e-mail along with this photo:
Finally, after waiting impatiently we were asked if we would like to "hangout" with Martha using Google + new feature "google hangout" which is like a video chat over the computer. Hangout? Martha Stewart? Obvious answer, YES!
At the end of this clip Vic Gundotra surprised us with a paid trip to New York to hangout with Martha live on one of her episodes! We were all so surprised! So the craziness began, we started working like crazy sending her team some ideas/photos/tutorials of what might be fun to do on the show. In the end they decided we would be showing Martha how to make our glittered citrus ornaments and we made a bunch and packed them to take to New York with us.
We flew out on a Sunday. Julianna, Janae, and Jamie (and Sabrina) all from Utah, and Jade (and Rosie) left from Maryland.
We met up with Jade at the airport, and The Letter 4 sisters were united once again! We hopped in the taxi and headed to the hotel.
Jade's husband, Mark, and daughter, Chloe rode the bus and met up with us after we got to the hotel. That night we walked down to times square and went shopping in Forever 21 (we couldn't help ourselves!)
Mom and Dad and Julianna's daughter, Kirianna, didn't get to New York till 7 am the next morning.
An intern picked up our ornaments early from us that morning and we walked down the street to the Martha Stewart show!
We went into a side entrance and walked down these halls filled with Martha's gorgeous photos from her modeling days and passed a room filled with all of her many Golden Globe Awards, which was right across the hall from our fabulous dressing room.
We were super excited just being in the dressing room and HUGE bathroom.
You should have seen our moms face when they brought in very pretty (and not cheap) Martha Stewart craft paper and stickers for the kids to play with.
After we got settled, we went into hair and makeup...most relaxing experience ever! We could definitely get used to that every day and we LOVED our make up artists and hair dressers! After we were all gussied up, it was rehearsal time. While we were getting ready, our producer, Lenore, laid out somewhat of a script we were going to follow and we practiced a few times (but of course when Martha comes on, she doesn't have to follow script! It was spontaneous and fun!)
After a trial run it was back to hair and make up for touch ups and then it was the show for real! We came back out and the studio audience had been filled and they all cheered as they announced us and we walked out. (celebrity moment? oh ya) Everyone we met on the set was SO fun! We laughed with all the camera crew and it really felt like we knew these people forever. Our favorite was when right before the show started and one of the crew members came up and told us "Just have fun! It's just TV it's not brain surgery we're not saving lives here." I think at that moment we all completely forgot the audience was there. Martha was fun as you saw during the show and very sweet to us during commercial breaks.
The filming started and everyone clapped as Martha walked in. Our first clip with her she got to know us a little bit better. She couldn't pronounce Janae's name for the life of her but we loved it....
Click here to watch the Get To Know Us video we had with Martha Stewart
(video is on left hand side of the page)
(video is on left hand side of the page)
Not shown on the internet clips, at the end, Martha surprised us with her own sign...
We have her sign it, it's now our favorite :)
Julianna's Personal Experience
The whole experience from the beginning has been so surreal! I kept thinking "oh I'm just dreaming. When I wake up I have to tell my sisters about this, their going to laugh!" Then one moment we're hanging out with Martha & Vic. Oh my gosh! Vic is saying...what?! They want to bring us to New York?! Next I'm hugging Jade in the airport & all four of us our standing there with each other too excited to be bothered with the little fact that eventually we need to grab a taxi to our hotel. So after the screaming, jumping, hugging we find ourselves in front of the hotel. The next thing I know my sisters & I are crafting with Martha & she's telling me mine is a mess haha! One of the best parts about this whole adventure was that it brought us all together. Not only did I get to share it with my sister & parents, but also with my most amazing Kirianna. Yes, I struggled with the fact that I couldn't bring my boys, but really, how could we have possibly spent girl time better any other way!!! (Thank you Nana & Jon for watching the boys & mom & dad for making it possible for Kirianna to be there.) Martha & her fabulous staff welcomed us & our families with opens arms & made us feel at home. The kids kept busy crafting too, the parents, Jade's husband, & Kirianna got to see the show. And my sisters & I were treated like royalty. The hair & make up team couldn't have been better. They were all so sweet & fun & I'm sad I had to leave them there haha. There are so many amazing people we got to work with, you all know who you are:) It was just an unbelievable opportunity to be a part of the Martha Stewart Show.
Jade's Personal Experience
This was an absolutely amazing experience for my little family. We packed our bags and Daddy and Chloe took the bus, and Rosie and I caught the plane. (barely!) We were on our way to NYC. For Mark and I, it was our fourth time, but this was the first time I would get to be there with my girls, my parents, and sisters ! When we were all settled in our hotel room, I loved how us sisters would randomly scream and be giddy like we were little girls again, waiting for a surprise.
I was so nervous for our first google hangout with Martha and Vic. I thought my heart was going to pound right out of my chest, so I tried not to think about how nervous I would be being there on the set, but it ended up being the complete opposite. That morning, we walked our 4 minute walk down the street and passed all the people in line waiting to sit in the audience. Was this real? Everyone was so extremely nice, helpful, welcoming and CALM. We had a tour, and rehearsed. The Martha staff was incredible, as was the set.
In our room, which was equipped with a nice large flat screen to watch the show and comfy cozy furniture, we were greeted with a fruit plate and a pile of magazines and checked on every minute, and checked out...making sure we all looked our best. "Can I press your shirt?" they asked me, and then held out three brand new shirts from the Gap. "What size would you like?" Wow. In between rehearsals, they'd kindly tell us, "Please go to hair and makeup for touch ups." (my favorite part! It was a BLAST!) I have never experienced being treated like a porcelain doll...and that's really what it felt like. I wore Armani foundation on my skin. (I didn't want to wash it off, haha.) I felt like I was watching a hair advertisement as the stylist threw my hair forward when he was finished, and it all landed P.E.R.F.E.C.T.L.Y. (How did he do that?!?!)
The kiddos were treated just as well, or better! They brought them beautiful Martha Stewart craft paper and stickers to play with which they were enthralled with. And then Rosie took a nice long nap in a big, comfy chair. Mark was in heaven during the segment after us. He got a free butchering book from the guy showing Martha how to make sausage. (Perfect segment for him to be watching! He loves meat!)
It was time to record. We went out and took our places at the craft table. Some of the camera/sound crew would be talking and joking with us while others would be telling them to stop bothering us because it was time to record. Loved it. They were all hilarious. The last time my cheeks hurt that bad from smiling was when I competed in the Junior Miss Pageant in high school. The last words we got before going on the show? Kind, genuine, happy words spoken to us from someone who seemed to read our minds, "Hey, this isn't brain surgery. You are gonna be great. Just have fun!" And that's exactly what it was, pure Martha Stewart fun. You don't get much better than that. :)
In our room, which was equipped with a nice large flat screen to watch the show and comfy cozy furniture, we were greeted with a fruit plate and a pile of magazines and checked on every minute, and checked out...making sure we all looked our best. "Can I press your shirt?" they asked me, and then held out three brand new shirts from the Gap. "What size would you like?" Wow. In between rehearsals, they'd kindly tell us, "Please go to hair and makeup for touch ups." (my favorite part! It was a BLAST!) I have never experienced being treated like a porcelain doll...and that's really what it felt like. I wore Armani foundation on my skin. (I didn't want to wash it off, haha.) I felt like I was watching a hair advertisement as the stylist threw my hair forward when he was finished, and it all landed P.E.R.F.E.C.T.L.Y. (How did he do that?!?!)
The kiddos were treated just as well, or better! They brought them beautiful Martha Stewart craft paper and stickers to play with which they were enthralled with. And then Rosie took a nice long nap in a big, comfy chair. Mark was in heaven during the segment after us. He got a free butchering book from the guy showing Martha how to make sausage. (Perfect segment for him to be watching! He loves meat!)
It was time to record. We went out and took our places at the craft table. Some of the camera/sound crew would be talking and joking with us while others would be telling them to stop bothering us because it was time to record. Loved it. They were all hilarious. The last time my cheeks hurt that bad from smiling was when I competed in the Junior Miss Pageant in high school. The last words we got before going on the show? Kind, genuine, happy words spoken to us from someone who seemed to read our minds, "Hey, this isn't brain surgery. You are gonna be great. Just have fun!" And that's exactly what it was, pure Martha Stewart fun. You don't get much better than that. :)
After it was all over, I realized I never once got those horrid nervous butterflies in my stomach. My heart never pounded. Everyone working there just made it too comfortable to even have the thought of being nervous. We laughed, we played, we crafted, and we met some incredibly, wonderful people. I loved having my parents and my husband in the audience watching and smiling. We had the time of our lives.
Jamie's Personal Experience:
From the very first I thought it was a joke. I kept waiting for it to hit me, maybe it would hit me after we talked to Martha, after we got on the plane, once we got to New York. I don't think it ever hit me! It's still so crazy to me that it actually happened! I can't believe how nice everyone was to us. I came home from New York incredibly pumped and ready to accomplish a ton. I think I learned so much from this experience because honestly, the thought of even giving a speech in class used to make me want to cry. But I have never had so much fun being in front of so many people. This is not the end of you seeing The Letter 4 sisters make it big time! Thank you to all of Martha Stewart's team and Google for this opportunity!
Janae's Personal Experience:
Sweet mother of pearl! Can we do that again?? :D I woke up 4:00 in the mornin' to drive two hours and hop on a plane for another four hours to go to the big apple, the city that never sleeps, the melting pot, NEW YORK CITY! From the time we had received that very first email, I was set on going. Everyone was saying don't get your hopes up, and it's probably a scam...but "it's just one of those ideas, I'm just psyched out of my mind about...ya' know, it's just one of those ideas where you're like, YES!"
We walked to the building that they film it in, passing happy ladies with Martha Stewart gift bags, thinking I'M GOING ON THAT SHOW!! :D It all went by so fast after that. We took a tour, ran into the crafter of all crafters, Martha, went into hair and makeup with the COOLEST hair and makeup crew you could ever meet, went over what we were going to do with Martha, and was just having the time of my life on a REAL set! I went back to the dressing room while my parents were freaking out because Martha was having her lunch break right across the hall where we could
More New York photos:
and that's the end of that story! We definitely will have lots more adventures to share with you though :)
love,
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