Ree Drummond - Pioneer Woman book tour, Austin Texas

Before I start this post, I need to explain something. You may have noticed a change to my Amazon links as of late. I have been linking to Amazon books since I started this blog several years ago, and I finally decided to become an Amazon Associate so that I could actually earn a tiny commission off of my referrals. I drive enough traffic their way, so I consider it their little way of saying thanks. :)


Now at last, getting to the point!

Last night, Ree Drummond (of Pioneer Woman Cooks fame) was in Austin Texas on a book tour for her newly released cookbook:



I arrived late (Austin traffic! Aggghh!), parked at the top of the parking garage at Bookpeople, and was given a purple wristband at the door. Purple, as in The Last Color That Will Be Called All Night. Purple, as in I Will Have To Wait In Line An Absurd Length Of Time To Get An Autograph.

I have literally NEVER gotten any one's autograph before, because I've never wanted to bother a celebrity in public, and also I have the incredible talent of NEVER BEING ABLE TO RECOGNIZE A CELEBRITY EVEN IF WE HOLD AN ENTIRE CONVERSATION. (I once unwittingly served coffee to the members of P.O.D. when I worked at a coffee shop in Tulsa, OK, and then my co-worker rushed them for an autograph when I chickened out, blushing in the back. Another time, at Cornerstone Fest, I was behind some band on stage at one of the shows with my brother-in-law, and this guy came up and started talking to us. I was thinking "who the hell is this guy, and why is he acting like we must know him?" He was super nice and all, but....oh! He was Toby Mac. Right. ANYWAY...) (Don't you love it when my parenthesized explanations are even longer than the rest of my paragraphs?) (I know, me too.) Also (wait, what were we talking about?!), I hate waiting in line for things. However, since I was also there to get some books signed for a friend who is still in Germany, I decided to take one for the team and stick it out. Even though I forgot my knitting. I know. Smack me in the face with a baseball bat right now.

Since we were in line for about 2 hours, I got to know this lady who was standing behind me, Mommy Mo of Growing Up Mo, which made the wait more entertaining. I haven't met many other bloggers in person, so it was interesting to be able to talk blogs, food, and parenting with someone else who also broadcasts their life and photography online.

At long last....

REE!! How we waited!! But you were so polite, so sweet, friendly. I do wish that I'd been early enough to hear you speak, but thank you so much for your patience with the 300+ people that showed up, and for sticking around to sign books until the very end of the line.



And thanks for still having the energy to smile at 11 at night for silly people like me who just had to get a picture...


Photo by Mommy Mo

(Oh dear, you can almost see down my sweater*. Well. That's special.)

Fun times! Apparently, Bookpeople is also the place that the Yarn Harlot stopped at when she was in Austin. Next time she writes a book, you can be sure I'll BE THERE EARLY THIS TIME.


*Yup, that's my Charming Shawl Collared Cardigan. I was wearing a loose, low-necked shirt underneath, so consider yourself lucky that it was cold enough for the sweater. Or something.