I posted Monday morning that my sister Brandy, galpal Val (I know…clever, right?) and myself were hitting the road, our anticipation gaining with each mile under our wheels. Well, apparently, us and about 500 other people all had the same idea. To meet and greet with the Pioneer Woman at Powell’s Bookstore in Portland, OR.
I should also add that while I was extremely pumped at the chance to meet the dazzling Ree Drummond, I was also pretty tingly at the idea of eating a meal without my children. Never one to thumb my nose at a “grownup” dining experience, I readily agreed when my travel partners suggested California Pizza Kitchen.
Can you sense my excitement? It’s building up there, and virtually explodes upon the visual of my cobb salad and herb & cheese foccacia making its way to my table.
My ladies were excited, too. We’re all unapologetic fans of food. Especially eating it.
After linner (lunch/dinner, original isn’t it?) we headed towards the bookstore, cookbooks in hand, to await our supreme goal of the evening. And as far as waiting in line goes, I’d say we had a pretty easy time of it. Being such paragons of promptness we were only 50 or so PW junkies back in line. And despite onlyone or two episodes of perspiration (the air was a bit stifling) we weathered the waiting game with grace. Except for the part where I was fanning myself with a greeting card while sweating profusely. But I’m pretty sure no one saw that.
It didn’t take long for the shindig to fill up.
It’s a good thing we showed up early or I’m pretty sure we’d still be in line to meet our idol.Withthat amount of peoplewaiting to meet Mrs. Drummond what could have been a hot mess was actually a very calm and collected grouping of fans. All the seats having been claimed early,the book signing quickly turned into a “standing room only event” with a large number of people tucking themselves in between the book shelves. We had only one real incident ofa lady forgetting her manners who was promptly reminded that she wasn’t in fact “above any courtesies.” She moved.
And we waited.
In true diva fashion, the Pioneer Woman was late! But, in the polar opposite of truediva fashion, the Pioneer Woman was late because her GPS directed her to take a right instead of a left. (Sidenote…I wholeheartedly believe that GPS units were invented to supplement profits for the blood pressure medication companies. Seriously.) The crowd quickly forgave Mrs. Drummond for her tardiness because 1) she drove herself to the book signing rather than paying Jeeves to do it and 2) she was fanning her armpits once she approached the podiumin an obvious attempt to quell the sudden onset of nervous sweat and 3) she began speaking into an empty mike stand, allwhich endeared her to us immediately.
She began theQ&A session and I was pleasantly and genuinelysurprised by how real this Pioneer Woman is. Ree could have easily been my next door neighbor…that is if I were surrounded by cattle and hot cowboysinstead of ranch-style housing and competing lawns. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to her speak and was captivated by her obvious disbelief that shehas fans.
I was so excited to actually meet Ree in person when she signed our cookbooks andshe most certainlydid not disappoint. Simply, I was starstruck. And likea stumbling fool, I almost forgot to hand her the bookmark/shameless self-promotion Brandy and Val had convinced me to give her. Brandy swept in and directed the PW’s attention to my blog info while I ducked my head in embarassment, my armpits suffering from my humiliation.
All in all, my expectations didn’t even come close to actually meeting the Pioneer Woman in person. She’s personable, gracious, humble and the real deal. Totally worth wet armpits.
Mindy
The Pioneer Woman Meets the Suburban Life Chick! It sounds like the next Lifetime TV Movie! Sounds like you had a fun trip. Your pics look awesome. Maybe you were sweating, but your skin was glowing!
I definitely like ‘glowing’ better than ‘sweating buckets.’ Thank you. 🙂
Mindy
Awesome! Glad you had such a great road trip, linner, and got to meet the PW!! The pics look great. Never eaten at a California Pizza Kitchen, but I so want to!!
♥Spot
Oh, California Pizza Kitchen. Go. Soon.
🙂
Mindy
Yep, that about sums it up. She was just like I’d hope she would be – funny and endearing. As exciting as it was to get to meet the great Ree, the best part for me was doing with with two of my favorite people.
Awwww, thanks! It was certainly a special night! 🙂
Mindy
Hi Mindy. My guy is a super-techno-geek, too. Works from home in ‘God-Knows-What’…. and it took a while to get help on the blog for me too, but not 6 months! I can totally relate to so much of what you said. Picture this… My Guy’s favorite way to start the day is with the geek’s breakfast of champions…drinking Mountain Dew directly from a 2 liter bottle and snacking on a Hershey bar. He wears this super sexy robe — heavy fleece in gray and black checks, and since it is a little big for him, he pulls it tight so the left hand pocket is right over his belly in the front and ties a knot right in front. He adds a cap to cover the bed head, and if I get really lucky, he’ll throw on a pair of tennis shoes with no socks to really rock out the ensemble. Gotta love our geeks! This morning as I was geting ready for work, I was treated to the lovely sounds of Weird Al’s “White and Nerdy”. Love rules.
Man, you sure can spin one sexy tale! Your man and my man sound like they were born on the same Star Trek planet. Thanks for the hearty chuckle! 🙂
Mindy
Ack! I’m jealous. That sounds like so, so much fun. Even the sweating.
Yes, even with all the sweating it was an amazing night. I’m quite certain the lack of minors in my care had something to do with that. 🙂
Mindy
They only thing that you left out is her singing!!! It was great and the whole day was so much fun!!!
Oh, that’s right! How could I forget her lovely intro!!! Good times with great people! 🙂
Mindy
Envy Envy!
I am peppering her website with subliminal messages for her to come here.
So, when you see a totally irrelevant post with with the words WINE COUNTRY sneakily inserted, that would be me. 🙂
So glad you had fun!
Shoot, the words “wine country” will probably entice all kinds of people to travel your way! 🙂
Mindy
I’m just really curious. Did anyone ask the question – how does she do it all? She publishes several posts a day – all of which include photos which requires taking pics and post processing. She homeschools 4 kids. The laundry alone for 4 kids would overwhelm the average person. She cooks and she does gardening. I’m sure there’s a lot I’m leaving out. Seriously. How is this possible?
Good question! No one asked her that specifically but did ask how long she spends blogging. She said she hasn’t really clocked her time spent but estimates 2-4 hours a day and mentioned all of her other responsibilities as taking up most of her time. Yes. I believe she has a little bit of superpower in her. Delightful lady, though! 🙂
Mindy
How fun! Looks like you had a wonderful time!
We certainly did! Thank you! 🙂
Mindy
Awesome recap. You and your friends looked so pretty for your meetup. 😀 I’m so glad that you had a wonderful experience. Often, I’m too afraid to meet my idols, as I’m afraid they will say or do something that will remove my adoration of them. Sounds like PW lived up to your expectations and more. 😀
I completely understand what you mean! I guess that unless the PW leaks some sex tape or gets filmed slapping an assistant I’ll be her fan to stay! 🙂
Mindy
What FUN! You guys look like you had fun. And pizza…YUM!
I know, right? Fun, and pizza? What a day! 🙂
Mindy
I have heard of her, but have yet to check out her blog.
Isn’t she like the most popular blogger?
Anyway, so glad you had a great time!
Lucky you! I want to meet the Pioneer Woman. I looked at her cookbook and wished I would have purchased it when I had the chance at Sam’s Club for a fabulous reduced price. I went back to find that they are all sold out. No wonder….beautiful photos and incredible recipes!
It looks like y’all had so much fun! Glad you were able to get away from the kiddos for some mommy time.