Pioneer Woman book signing in Austin

One of my absolute favorite things about blogging is making connections with people. Where else could I meet crafty/sewing moms (from all over the world), who are doing similar things, and become real friends with them?? Amazing.
And last Thursday night I got to meet two of my favorite local blogger friends! Yep. The faces behind the computer screen stepped away for a moment and had human interaction. It was a treat!

Hanging out together for the night were:
* Jade from Craft Hope and Chik Austin
* Courtney from The Woodland School
* me
* and Ree, The (famous) Pioneer Woman!

Well, I’d like to think Ree was part of our bloggers-unite group. But yea, there were 100s of other people there too. We were all there to celebrate the release (is that what you call in the book world? I’m thinking with a Film mind here) of her new cookbook!

Courtney (middle) and Jade (right) were troopers, and got there early to buy books and save a seat on the wood floor. Benefits of living furthest away, for me?
Women (and a few men) were EVERYWHERE.
at one point we were warned that it may be a fire hazard but for no one to panic and just skooch in closer, away from the aisles. The Book People employees were great hosts, with an easy going sense of humor.
From our front-row seats, we saw Ree’s family walk by a few times. Yep! That’s Marlboro Man! And one of her daughters….with a really cute aqua scarf on:
And finally, after hours of waiting, Ree came gracefully down the stairs (apologizing for holding us up because she had to use the restroom). Marlboro Man snapped photos of her entrance. And I’m sure he was taking a picture of me as well. I’d like to compare notes….his photo next to mine:
(* UPDATE: you can find PW’s post about the Austin book-signing HERE on her blog. Look for my green shirt!)
Ree is just gorgeous. And just as quick with the wit as we’d hoped for.
She claimed that she’s not good at public speaking, so she did a Q&A session instead. At one point she realized that those of us sitting below her were getting a great shot of her lower chin. She quickly pulled up her turtleneck and asked us to delete all the previous pictures we’d taken. Funny lady.
and she razzed Marlboro Man for a bit about not having their Christmas decor up yet. Ree, in her subtle and classy ways, is an entertainer.
and a fine dresser. Boots from Anthropologie:
When the questions were done, she headed up-stairs and we all got in line for the book-signing.
Of course some people wanted M.M.’s signature too, so we got in on that action…
Me, Marlboro Man, Courtney, and Jade:
and well….
yea,
this just needed to happen:
My husband asked why there was a picture of a man’s butt on our computer. I had to laugh and told him, it’s his signature look (and the last page of the book). He was fine with that answer.
We waited in line and had such a ball just chatting. It’s been great corresponding with these ladies online, but to have undivided chat time with them face-to-face? Dreamy.
Finally our moment came. We gave her our books:
And she entertained our piddly pictures:
and wrote cute messages inside:
Want to see what else is in there? It’s nothing short of all her blog offers. Beautiful photos of her family and friends:
And step-by-step instructions with her recipes. What a genius idea! If (maybe…when?) I ever get to write a book, I’m keeping note of that. A fabulous format:
I can’t wait to sit down over Christmas and actually read the book. My life’s been slightly consumed with crafting lately.

And because Ree’s just nice like that….she gave us all t-shirts! And not just Tee shirts, but cute GIRL sized shirts. Love it.
The whole group of us.
See, she was hanging out with us for the night:
To finish of our truly Austin night, the girls introduced me to this. YUM:
clever ceiling decor:
more fun times chatting:
and lots of yummy salsa and diet cokes.
It was truly, a fabulous night. Thank you Courtney and Jade! And thank you Pioneer Woman. You are an inspiration to bloggers everywhere.

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