Appetizers: Folsom woman becomes Martha's helper

Appetizers

Restaurants | Reviews | Macias on Wine | Dunne's Wine Picks | Food & Wine | Restaurant Inspections

October 5, 2010

Folsom woman becomes Martha's helper

By Debbie Arrington
darrington@sacbee.com

Folsom's Colleen Gordon got a moment in the spotlight Tuesday with how-to maven Martha Stewart during the taping of Stewart's show in New York City.

Her five minutes of fame - originally shown live in New York - will be re-broadcast in the Sacramento market at 1 p.m. PDT Wednesday on the Hallmark Channel.

Gordon, a crafter herself, was chosen at random from the studio audience to help Stewart create luminaries out of gourds. That included drilling holes into the dried gourds while live on camera.

"I had never done anything like that before," said Gordon, reached by phone in New York. "I had five minutes to cram everything in my head like a big sponge before we went on camera.

"But my drill was set on reverse," she added. "(Martha) was drilling away on her gourd, but mine wasn't working. It became a big joke. Finally, we got mine working, too. And the gourds turned out beautifully."

The task seemed natural to Gordon, who is in the party business. Visiting New York with her husband Robb for a business conference, the 40-year-old Folsom mom owns Party Wishes (mypartywishes.com), which specializes in themed party planning for children and teens.

"I started doing parties for my own kids," said the mother of four children, ranging in age from 2 to 13. "We take care of it all - decor, favors, hosting. It's for moms who don't have a lot of time."

Stewart gave Gordon an extra surprise: The TV host plugged her Folsom party business.

"She had asked me off camera what I do, but then she repeated it on the air," Gordon recalled. "It was the best advertising I could ever have in the whole world - and it was free."

Gordon also got to keep the gourd. "Now, I've got to find a way to get it home on the plane," she said. "But it will be on my doorstep soon."

Call The Bee's Debbie Arrington, (916) 321-1075.

About Comments

Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "report abuse" button below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.

What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com

Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)

Here are some rules of the road:

• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "report abuse" button to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.

• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.

• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.

• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand. If you want to discuss an issue with a specific user, click on his profile name and send him a direct message.

• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.

• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.

• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.

• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.

You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "report abuse" button to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.

If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them, but you may ask our staff to retract one of your comments by sending an email to feedback@sacbee.com. Again, make sure you note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us your profile name.

blog comments powered by Disqus

FOLLOW US | Get more from sacbee.com | Follow us on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook | Get news in your inbox | View our mobile versions | e-edition: Print edition online | What our bloggers are saying