Ree & Me

If you follow the Pioneer Woman you know that she was in Orlando last week. 

Coincidentally, so was I. Or maybe not such a coincidence because I live here. Whatevs. The stars aligned to bring Ree & me together. Or maybe it was Barnes & Noble that brought us together.  Technicality.

Anyhoo, the last stop on Ree's The Pioneer Woman Cooks Cookbook Tour was in Orlando last Wednesday.  I had to be there.  I love Ree and greatly enjoy her hilarious, witty and honest blogging style.  Whether it's calf nuts, basset hounds or biscuits, Ree knows how to tell a story.  And her photography is down right amazing.

Unlike those of you in this mythical place we call Blog Land, most of my IRL friends have never heard of The Pioneer Woman.  I'd venture to guess that my girlfriends would have better odds of picking Trick Daddy out of a line-up than The Pioneer Woman. ("Trick love da kids.") The majority of my friends have very little interest in cooking.  And even fewer of them read blogs.  So, a cookbook signing by a famous blogger is most definitely not high on their list of Wednesday night priorities.  All of this to say:  I went to the book signing alone. 

Ree was scheduled to appear at 6:00 p.m. so I knew I'd have to get there well before that if I wanted to see her.  I cut out of work early and made it to Barnes & Noble by 4:15 p.m. I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived to find no one waiting in-line outside the store. (Not sure why I was expecting Bono sized crowds...)

Armed with my cookbooks,

(The blue dots indicate the books were paid for.)

I made my way into the store and found the line wrapped between the stacks in the fiction section. 

I camped out on the floor with everyone else and pulled out a book to pass the time. (Since I was ALONE and had no one to talk to.  The biggest loser at Barnes & Noble that day? Definitely this girl!)

At about 5:00 p.m. they started moving everyone upstairs where Ree would do her Q&A session and sign books.  Though not as cushy as the early birds who scored seats, I got a pretty great spot to stand in and wait for Ree to arrive.

Someone brought a blow up horse.  People are weird. (Says the girl who came alone...)

Other unexpected things observed in the crowd: people bearing gifts, a pug puppy in a basket and lots of babies - guess they liked cookbooks. 

After moving upstairs, there was still another hour or so until Ree was schedule to arrive, so I entertained myself by flipping through the cookbook and reading blogs/checking Twitter from my Blackberry.

Ree arrived right on schedule and brought her girls with her.  When they entered the store, everyone started taking pictures paparazzi style. I followed suit.

Let's pretend you can tell that's Ree and her daughters.

Ree came out and talked with us for a while and was sweet enough to answer questions from the crowd.  She even sang upon request!  She claimed to be nervous but she seemed pretty comfortable up there.  Turns out, telling the crowd that you almost forgot to take the tissues out from under your armpits before you came out to speak is a pretty good ice breaker!

Ree was absolutely gorgeous in person - tall and thin with beautiful red hair.  It's hard to believe she's had four children!  She sure doesn't look like she's been living the ranch life. 

After the Q & A session ended at about 6:20 p.m., Ree began signing books.  Cue more waiting. (Totally worth it by the way.  I'm not complaining, just trying to paint a picture.)

The people who brought the blow up horse were among the first to get their books signed. After angling somewhat embarrassingly (and unsuccessfully) for an invite to the ranch, they left.  And took their horse with them.  Again, I say, people are weird. 

As the line inched closer and closer to Ree, my location moved from the Biography section to the cookbook section.  This was akin to torture.  It was after 7:30pm and I was HUNGRY.  

Still, I kept my eye on the prize. Eventually, the line of people in front of me looked shorter than the line of people behind me.

These are just some of the people in line behind me on the second floor. There was another line of people waiting on the first floor.  I don't want to know how long they waited...poor things.  Such devoted fans.

Finally...it was my turn! 

Here I am cheesin' it up with Ree!

I gave my two cookbooks to Ree to sign and explained that one was for me and the other was for my girlfriend Kristen who was a big fan (I left out the part about our other friends being bigger fans of Trick Daddy - didn't seem relevant), but couldn't attend because she just had a baby five days earlier.  Ree asked whether this was Kristen's first baby (yes), whether the baby was a girl or boy (boy) and what his name was (Brooks).  Then she wrote the sweetest inscription in Kristen's book.

Kristen didn't know I was having a book signed for her so she was very excited when I sent her a picture of her special message from Ree.  I can't wait to go visit Kristen & Baby Brooks very soon to deliver the cookbook (and to kiss all over sweet baby Brooks!). 

Here's my message from Ree:

Ree was so sweet and took a minute to speak to every person who came up to have a book signed. This was the only signing I've ever attended - cookbook or otherwise - but I was surprised that Ree took a minute to look everyone person in the eye and share a genuine compliment or word of thanks for coming. She posed for as many pictures as people wanted to take and never frowned, much less complained. She was absolutely lovely.

If Ree ever makes a stop in your town, go visit her.  She's worth the wait.