A Wedding One Year Ago

On a warm, late-summer day one year ago this past weekend, there was a pretty outdoor wedding. The groom was my cousin Adam. This guy can usually be found at Four Seasons Nursery (where he loves helping people with their landscaping quandaries) in Carhartt overalls, sunglasses, and a cap. But on that day, his bride Tosha talked him into wearing a tuxedo - and he looked pretty handsome, don't you think?

Tosha, of course, was pretty beautiful herself. Our family is blessed that Adam found her! I knew it was going to work out when I first heard Tosha doing a spot-on impression of Adam. The same Adam who is usually the one doing the hilarious, spot-on impressions of other people. Yes. It was pretty awesome.

Oh! Let me show you one of their engagement picture that was perfect. See, Tosha teaches spin and weight classes and she's won first place (thankyouverymuch) in a fitness competition last year. And I already told you about Adam, so this picture is very appropo. I love it!

Here's some more pictures from the wedding. Jeremy and I took turns taking these...

Grandaddy performed the wedding. =)

Bless her heart. Tosha's niece Tessa was exhausted 

and slept through most of the wedding on my lap. 

As the wedding director, I was just so glad to get her down the aisle! Ha!

Adam's sister Beth and good friend Josh - or Jug, as he is called in real life.

My dad and I designed the programs. =)

Cousin Nick and Aunt Claudia, who got an "empty" program. 

Now, some volunteers in our family hand-folded those...who left this one in there?? Ha!

Pretty cake!

Pretty girls!

Jeremy and me with the happy couple

Happy Anniversary, you guys! You might have already found out that the first year of marriage is both blissful and frustrating. We remember. ;) And we're cheering you on. Love you both! May you have many more very happy years together. =)

Radish Chive Tea Sandwiches with Sesame and Ginger

Not very long ago, I wasn't so sure I liked radishes. Luckily, my friend Bridget surprised the tea party committee with this intriguing tea sandwich recipe and everything I thought I knew about radishes vanished into thin air. Every one of us loved the slightly spicy taste of these and the general prettiness of the radish rounds decorating the top. It was a perfect addition to our tea menu this year!

Radish-Chive Tea Sandwiches with Sesame and Ginger

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Yield:  Makes 16 servings

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature

3 tablespoons minced chives, divided

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

¾ teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

¼ teaspoon Asian sesame oil

salt and pepper, to taste

3-4 radishes, thinly sliced

Mix butter, 2 tablespoons chives, sesame seeds, ginger, and oil in small bowl; season with salt and pepper.  Spread butter mixture over each bread slice.  Trim bread into desired sandwich shape, such as squares or rounds. Top with radishes, overlapping slightly. Sprinkle with remaining chives. Serve sandwiches open-faced.

Recipe adapted from http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Radish-Chive-Tea-Sandwiches-with-Sesame-and-Ginger-241846

Yeesh.

You're gonna have to excuse me and my computer issues...I've got some technical glitches and I'll be back (with all the catch-up work - ha!) in a couple of days. =)
Happy Fourth! ;)

July 2: A Delay. I Know...

Yeah, Day 2 of my July blogging challenge and I have a perfectly good post saved as a draft...and no pictures showing up, so here's a promise for two posts tomorrow. Now = time for sleep. Past time.

July 1: You, Too, Miiight Be Able to Grow a Pineapple

Well, borrowing the idea from Kristi Montague, I decided I needed a swift kick in the pants to get back on a decent blogging schedule...which means that I have big plans to blog for the 31 days of July. (Be sure to check out Kristi's Indian-inspired photoshoot for July 1st.) I've got so, so, so much to tell you this month...I mean, seriously.

I need to ask you...do you live in Hawaii? Yeah, I don't either. When you live in Tennessee, you don't see many pineapple plantations scattered around, BUT...you can still grow a pineapple - because obviously we live in an almost tropical climate ourselves. (O.K., not really, but it certainly feels like it.) When I found this out (thanks to my Aunt Becky) I became Very Excited. We tried it - and it works. Well. I mean, we haven't *eaten* the pineapple yet, but it's coming along.

See? Is that not one of the cutest plants you've ever seen?? You cannot dissuade me from thinking so. Don't even try.

All you do is twist off the top of a pineapple (you *do* have to buy a pineapple to get a second FREE pineapple) and remove any fruit bits (or it could cause the plant to rot) and plant it in a pot with well-draining soil. You may also want to root it in water first if you prefer. In the colder months, keep it inside near a window with plenty of light and water it about once a week. When it gets warm, move it outside and water more frequently. It does need to be able to dry out between waterings or the leaves start to turn yellow. (Not that we have any experience with that.)

Here's the catch...it may take up to TWO YEARS to grow a pineapple. So, if you were ever wondering why pineapples are so expensive, well, there's your answer. We've been growing this one for a year - or maybe a year and a half...we really can't remember. Over a month ago, we noticed that teeny-tiny pineapple starting to form. It was an exciting day and I almost couldn't believe our good fortune.

I don't know exactly what's up with it right now, but it looks healthy, if very stemmy. According to some "very scientific" journals on the subject, we might call this a teenager pineapple.

Since I don't have much interest in eating the top part, though, I certainly hope the fruity part has a growth spurt soon. I'll keep you updated.

P.S. Ms. Ethel, a lady we go to church with, has planted two pineapple plants in the past and says the pineapples she got from them were SO sweet and so much better than the ones from the store. Crossing my fingers that I can soon say the same!

Hicksville Happenings

Lately, I've kind of been taking a blogging break. Not really intentionally, but it just kinda happened that lots of things were going on all-at-once and I just didn't know what to write about. Because there was too much to write about and not enough time. I like to write, but I can't usually just whip something out and press "Publish Post." But I'm going to make myself do that. At least today. We'll see how it goes.

I like to read other people's posts with random lists of their thoughts or what they're up to or just...whatever...that day. So...I will be a copycat.

1. I am OBSESSED with our plums trees in the yard. I've been composing a whole blog post about them. I promise, it won't be as boring as it sounds. There will be plum jelly and plum cobbler involved. And lots of crazy adjectives, like "glorious." And gratuitous plum tree photography. I might frame some of it. I love the colors!

2. Our kitchen sink (and dishwasher) had some major problems last Wednesday night. When we had friends visiting after church. (Hello, Bethany, Brittany, Ian, and new baby Owen!) And people staying the night with us on Thursday night. I was going to cook for them, but I could not. The plumbing situation didn't get resolved until Saturday, but the glue on the new pipe fitting wasn't cured until Sunday, and though I slowed down with the cooking, I didn't completely stop everything, and we didn't use paper plates, so we had a truckload of dirty dishes, and even though I usually hate washing dishes, this conundrum drove me CRAZY. But I'm just glad that Jeremy was the one who fixed it. He ran a new line and tied it into the separate washing machine line, and how did I get so lucky to marry a handyman?? Amen.

3. I've just figured out how to spend less time on a blog post. More commas and conjunctions. Less full sentences.

4. This weekend I made individual blueberry peach crisps, following this recipe from last year. I used to always prefer chocolate over fruit desserts, but times, they are a'changin'. That stuff is excellent, especially when the fruits are squarely in season.

5. Jeremy and I got new smart phones. We actually stepped out of the Flip-phone Stone Age (seriously, we both had our phones for four or five - or six? years) and now have Droids. It's taken a little while to get used to them, but I think it's safe to say that they're working out quite alright. I love taking pictures with mine (8 megapixels!) and Jeremy has discovered Angry Birds. And we've both started playing Words with Friends and I'm not really even a game person.

6. This HOT weather is so stinkin' uncomfortable. I have been longing to visit a milder climate. Until September maybe.

7. Our little gardens (you may remember the cedar garden and the cardi-garden from last year) weren't doing too great. Again. Enter the addition of nitrogen, which was recommended from various sources. Here's what Jeremy came home from the Co-op with.

Phone picture...sometimes they're great...

sometimes I can't figure out how to turn off the flash.

Dried blood. Isn't that sweet? But the plants loooooooove it and want to marry it. It smells kinda like a dead animal.

8. Our Rose of Sharon has started blooming. I love those trees (or bushes?) for several different reasons...my parents had one outside their bathroom window years ago in Picayune, MS. So when we moved to TN when I was a baby, they planted another one outside their new bathroom window. They have several around their yard now and we have one big one and a few smaller transplants to find places for in our yard. 

I love the idea of them because of their name, too. When I was taking these pictures last night, I kept singing, "Jesus, Rose of Sharon" as I played with the last light of the day. (I just learned a few things about that song that you might be interested in, too.)

Doesn't this little branch look like it created its own corsage? It's so crafty.

Well, I have deduced that I need to limit my random lists to about three items in the future. You live, you learn.

Happy Monday!

Kristen

The Tea Boutique

I've just got so many fun things to tell you about the tea party this past Saturday, but well, it's gonna be a little at a time! The first thing that I want to go ahead and let you in on is an online shopping opportunity. We did great with our Tea Boutique sales, but we've still got some fun items to offer: fancy teapot jewelry and intriguing Tea Shop Mystery books and cute handmade tea cozies. And, well, two kinds of tea. Of course!

Usually we just pack everything up and sell it next year, along with some newer items, but I thought I'd try an online sale for a bit. Especially since we're still trying to meet our fundraising goal for student scholarship giving. May 31st marks the end of our fiscal year, so if you're interested in purchasing anything, just go right ahead and let me know what you want! =) And since all profits go toward FHU student scholarships, if you're interested in making an extra (tax deductible) donation, we'd be glad to help you with that, too.

We're not in the online selling business really, so send me a message at victorianteaparty@fhu.edu to ask about shipping and payment options. We'll do our best to use the most cost-effective shipping prices. And now...here's the link to the Facebook album entitled 2011 Tea Boutique. If you'll notice, I had a little fun with the merchandising. ;)

Tea Partying *This* Weekend!

It's almost time. The white tents are being delivered today. The sun is shining and the skies are blue and they are promising to still be so pretty three days from now. What a relief! Since I have multiple lists whose items I'm feverishly crossing off, I wanted to share something with you that I wrote last year. Not something from my blog coverage of the tea party. Something a little more formal that was actually printed in our local newspaper. Hope you enjoy...and hope you get excited for this Saturday! Even if you're not able to attend because maybe you live in Canada or Massachusetts or China (hello to my readers from those very places!) - please have a spot of tea and maybe some rosemary parmesan hearts (recipe below) this weekend and think of me...

Amidst thunderstorms and threats of area flooding, the eighth annual Freed-Hardeman University Associates’ Victorian Tea Party still saw success this past Saturday, May 1^st. The usual location of the Hardeman House had to be changed for the very first time to the Henderson church of Christ building, which is just across the street. Loyal guests were prepared for the change of venue. As previous guest and out-of-towner Katherine Bennett sent word, “My girls and I are coming, rain or shine!”

With tea tables set up in the lovely Commons area, the first group of guests arrived at the scene right as the electricity went out. Susan Edmonds commented afterwards that, “Everything seemed to go smoothly and the no-power thing just seemed to transport us back to Victorian times.” Luckily, enough hot tea had just been brewed to last the guests until the electricity returned halfway through the tea party.

Guests were served tea party fare on three-tiered plate stands entwined with floral greenery and each topped with a small pastel butterfly. The food served at the 2010 Victorian Tea Party included Savory Cucumber Sandwiches, Spicy Cheddar Pimento Sandwiches, White Chocolate Cherry Scones with Chocolate Cream and Cherry Butter, Chocolate Raspberry Tassies, Mini Spongecakes with Jasmine Tea Buttercream, Rosemary Parmesan Hearts, and Lemon Turnovers, which were accented with fresh strawberries and grapes.

 The two teas chosen for this year were Madame Butterfly Jasmine, which is “simply the best green tea with a heavenly jasmine fragrance,” according to Debbie McLaughlin, co-chair of this year’s tea party. The steering committee’s overwhelming response to this tea inspired the serendipitous butterfly theme for this year’s tea party. McLaughlin describes the second tea, Norfolk Blend, as a “robust black tea blend perfect for a morning wake-up call or a lovely afternoon tea party.” A refreshing lemonade was also served.

The smallest guests were still able to giddily enjoy dressing up in princess costumes, provided by Becky Welch. Ashley Hardin made sure that the little ladies had an appropriate place to have their picture taken by setting up a small wicker table and chairs and hanging a fanciful canopy above it. Beribboned butterfly wands, prepared by Rhonda Thompson, and paper doll design were also popular areas for the little girls.

“We are making precious memories,” noted Dwina Willis, who always attends the tea party with her daughter, Becky, and granddaughter, Laura Beth. These precious memories were recorded this year by FHU’s Jud Davis, who will soon be uploading the portrait and candid pictures to http://photos.fhu.edu for purchase.

The adult guests appreciated learning a new needlework at Laurel Sewell and Sasha Gott’s candlewicking venue, which is a form of white-on-white embroidery. Committee member Karen Walker had been the mastermind behind this venue but could not attend the tea party due to recent back surgery. Another beautiful venue was set up by Margaret Payne and featured various tea accoutrements for the purpose of showing guests the proper way to prepare and serve hot tea. Also at this venue was an ingenious lamp constructed of a teapot topped with teacups and saucers, a show of the appreciation of tea culture. Adapted from Country Living magazine, Laurel Sewell’s creation inspired others to make their own at home; her instructions were included in the souvenir program.

Guests browsed the offerings of the Tea Boutique and many took home colorful teapots, handmade fabric tea cozies, dainty teapot bead jewelry, packaged food items, and various other tea accoutrements to continue their own tea party at home. One guest reported later that, after a tornado siren woke her up early Sunday morning, she was not able to go back to sleep. Instead, she enjoyed reliving the events of that day’s tea party, complete with some of the delicious rosemary parmesan hearts, in the middle of the night.

Besides a change in venue, this year held another first in that a Silent Auction was set up to offer the ladies the chance to bid on an excellent gift basket, thanks to Valeria Pitoni. The gift basket contained various handmade products from Stillwaters Farm and a gift certificate for a one-night stay at The Cottage at Stillwaters Farm, located here in Chester County.

“This day would not have been possible without the help of many, many people,” says Kristen Hicks, co-chair of this year’s tea party. “We had a great steering committee, lots of volunteers donating ingredients and making all of the wonderful food at ‘cooking parties’ leading up to the day of the tea party. There were so many hard-working Associates moving tables and chairs, washing dishes, decorating, and cleaning up. Husbands and fathers were involved and we appreciate them so very much, too. We had some volunteer students from FHU also who helped set up, serve, and clean up. I can’t even imagine having this event without all of these volunteers. We just couldn’t do it.”

Sponsors for this event were Chester County Bank, Dr. Larry Bloomingburg, FHU Bible Bookstore/University Store, Mary Kay (Susan Edmonds), The Peoples Bank, Lookin’ Good/A-1 Realty, Hester Publications, No Xcuse Fitness, Stillwaters Farm, Bramblett Group, Shackelford Funeral Directors (Casey Chapel), Happy Kids Consignment Shoppe, Radio Shack, and Patricia Jones, Republican Nominee for Chester County Mayor.

Hicks added, “Our corporate sponsors and individual patrons are an integral part of our success every year, too. All of our profits go toward FHU student scholarships and we are blessed that so many people have the same vision as we do.”

Rosemary Parmesan Hearts

Makes approx. 11 dozen small hearts

Printer friendly version

2 c. all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking powder

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary

¾ c. (1 ½ sticks) salted butter

¾ c. Parmesan cheese, finely grated (not powdered)

2 egg yolks

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the flour and baking powder together and cut in the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the Parmesan, rosemary, and egg yolks. Continue working the dough until it forms a ball. This can all be done in a food processor.

Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/8” thick and cut out with a small heart cookie cutter. Re-roll the remaining dough and continue cutting out hearts until the dough has all been used. Place the hearts onto baking stones, if possible, or baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake approximately 10 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack and store in airtight container.

You're Gonna Need S'more Peeps

It's exactly what you think it is. I did it. And I'm not ashamed. I just hope you won't judge me too harshly. Because, well, I toasted those cute little yellow Peeps.

And it was AWESOME. I'm not even kidding...they were the *BEST* s'mores I've ever tasted. And I'm a s'mores connoisseur. I think it was because the sugar coating caramelized...much like the topping of a Creme Brulee. It was an entirely pleasant surprise. (By the way, I made a Creme Brulee cheesecake for my cousin's birthday party last night, lest you think I'm getting too redneck for this blog. Plus, I just used the word "lest.") 

Yes, that is peanut butter you see smeared on top of the graham cracker. Which is my mother's totally fantabulous addition to The S'more. And since we don't have Hershey bars lying around the house at any given time, we usually use chocolate chips. What you see here is a mixture of milk chocolate, semi-sweet, and white chocolate chips. (The butterscotch ones are also a crowd pleaser.)

What a quick dessert! And now you won't have a zillion cupcakes lying around, being all left-over and begging to be eaten tomorrow. Word to the wise.

And maybe the Peeps will be the only ones who need to apply a little cocoa butter for those embarrassing stretch marks. Here's hoping.

If you need this recipe written out, word for word, and a printable link created, you just let me know. ;) In the meantime, you might want to stock up on some Peeps. At half price. 

Hope you had a Happy Easter! Alright, back to tea party planning...and praying for no tornadoes this time. You can pray, too. I'd really appreciate it. ;)

Tea Party Menu

That little tea party fundraiser I've been working on is THREE WEEKS from now...well, from this past Saturday really. So, less than three weeks. Time to truly freak out! There is still so much To Do. Which is why I haven't been here much at all lately. But I wanted to stop in and tell you about our upcoming menu because it is going to be Really Delicious. And I'll probably share some recipes with you afterwards...so stay tuned. =)

Victorian Tea Party Menu

May 7, 2011

Minted Butter Cucumber Sandwiches

Dilled Chicken Salad in Pastry Puffs

Radish Sesame Ginger Tea Sandwiches

Blueberry Almond Scones with Blackberry Butter and Orange Cream

Lemon Pistachio Puffs

Chocolate Caramel Mini Cupcakes

White Chocolate Lime Cookies

Fresh Fruit

Tea Selection:

Rhubarb Cream

Blue Sapphire

Doesn't all of that sound just marvelous?? I'm telling you, our committee tested some wonderful food this year and we couldn't serve all of it at once, so, fortunately, we've got some waiting in the wings for later tea parties. I love when that happens. =)

We also have some wonderful activities planned...I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone's paper roses and embroidery projects! The little girls will also have a lovely time making paper dolls and playing dress-up. And of course, I predict that everyone will ooh and aahhh over our fun merchandise in the Tea Boutique. =) Adorable handmade tea cozies, colorful teapots, sweet miniature tea sets, beautiful crystal teapot jewelry, intriguing Teashop Mystery novels...I've already been shopping...I'll admit it. ;)

Live near us in Henderson, Tennessee, and want to tea party with us? You can bring your daughters, your mother, your sisters, your friends! It's often a multi-generational event for many families, but if you only have sons or your mom lives far away, call up your sweet friends and make it a perfect Girls' Day. To dream about what your tea party experience might be like this year, go to the tea party page on the FHU website and take a look at our pictures!

Questions? Email me at victorianteaparty@fhu.edu and I can help you with tickets. Prices are as follows: ADVANCE Adult tickets are $15.00 and Children's tickets are $8.00. Tickets purchased AT THE DOOR are $18.00 for Adults and $10.00 for Children. The tea party is FREE for children ages 2 and under.

Talk to me. Are you coming to the tea party? Have you come every single year? What's your favorite part? What food item sounds the most intriguing to you this year? Comment away! =)

Tea Party Season!

My newest teacup find at HomeGoods in Chattanooga. 

Love that place!

And look at the detail on the inside of the cup. Cute, no?

Just as I suspected, my recent influx of posts has slowed considerably in the last couple of weeks. It's because of several things...traveling, work, sickness (Tonsilitis, anyone? How about a sinus infection, too? And maybe strep, for good measure?) but mainly...mainly, it's because of tea party season.

And no, I don't mean "tea party" in relation to any political agendas. I mean an actual tea party. I've been making plans for this year's tea party along with my lovely committee and things are going swimmingly. We've been sampling teas and deciding on tea sandwiches and gathering sponsors and patrons, because this tea party is a fundraiser for a university we hold near and dear to our hearts. Our next meeting promises a scone-tasting, which we are all looking forward to. YES, please.

To read, in full, the account of last year's tea party:

The Tea Party Report - Part 1: The Food

The Tea Party Report - Part 2: The Fun

The Tea Party Report - Part 3: The Flood - or - A Change in Plans

This year's tea party will be held on Saturday, May 7th and if you're anywhere near our area (Henderson, TN) I hope you can attend! To learn more about this event and see pictures from tea parties past, go to http://www.fhu.edu/associates/teaparty.aspx

A word about sponsorships: if you own a business that could benefit from advertising at a ladies' event which expects about 250 guests, please contact us at victorianteaparty@fhu.edu. You can access the forms and sponsor information on the tea party page on the FHU website. One more exciting thing! Even if you don't live around here but have an appropriate online business that would love to reach our many guests, we have created a special $50.00 rate just for you! Check out the form for more information.

A word about patronships: if you would like to support the tea party (and in turn, FHU student scholarships) as an individual, this opportunity is perfect for you. It's even possible to dedicate your patronship in honor of memory of a special relative or friend. Last year I dedicated my patronship to my dear, sweet grandmother who would have loooved this tea party so much. She would have tied her apron on and gotten right to work with cooking!

One last thing...find us on Facebook and let us know you're coming!

Starstruck: Meeting The Pioneer Woman

You guys!! Last Friday evening was so exciting. My friends Sandy and Bridget and I drove to Memphis to a huge and very nice Davis-Kidd bookstore with one goal in mind. To see Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman, IN PERSON. To be able to giddily say things like, "This is so surreal!" while we watched her sign other people's books, like, 20 feet away. To chat with other fans, the nice people that we all are, while we tried to catch a glimpse of what Marlboro Man really looks like without seeming too stalkerish. (He was there, y'all! And we didn't even know he was going to be. It was Very Exciting.)

I've been a faithful reader of The Pioneer Woman's blog since a little over a year ago. Since then, I've tried many recipes that she's told me to (strawberry shortcake cake and BBQ chicken pizza now being made OFTEN at our house), we built a container garden to her specifications last spring, I've gotten into photography (especially of food and flowers) and often use her "actions" in Photoshop Elements to jazz things up a bit, and really...she has definitely been a blogging inspiration. I love her way with words and it made me remember how much I enjoy writing, too.

So when I found out that she'd be in Memphis during her current book tour for Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, I jumped at the chance to see this lady live and in person. Our friend Becky was supposed to go with us, but due to a bout of the flu...on top of a sinus infection...on top of viral bronchitis...she was, sadly, unable to go. We missed you, Becky! =(

We got there to the bookstore around 5:30, not knowing what kind of madness would ensue. Actually, there wasn't any madness. No chaos. No long lines. (Yet still plenty of people - towards the end of the evening, an employee guesstimated that there were 500-600 people there for this particular booksigning.)  Davis-Kidd had this brilliant idea of assigning a letter (we were Group "O") to groups of 25. And so, we didn't have to stand in line for three hours.

As we were waiting for Ree to appear, we ran into my friend Whitney, who lives in Memphis. She was very excited that her husband had singlehandedly arranged for The Pioneer Woman to travel to our area just two days before Whitney's birthday. What a good man, huh? ;)

Whitney = cute pregnant lady

Ree came out at 6:00pm, said a few words, answered a few questions, and then while Group A quickly lined up to meet her, we hightailed it over to the cafe inside the bookstore...Bronte: A Novel Bistro. Because of the clever name, I loved it already. We leisurely ate dinner (the chicken avocado wrap was spicy and marvelous) and chatted and didn't even leave the cafe' for an hour and a half. At least. But that was really because Bridget's peach cobbler didn't arrive in a timely manner. Her peach cobbler that wasn't really worth the wait, she lamented. Oh, well. We were in no hurry. (Did I mention we were in Group O?)

All we had concrete plans to do were to track down Marlboro Man...and snap a few discreet pictures...and then do a little bookstore browsing while we waited patiently for our group to be called. It didn't take long to find the one lone white cowboy hat perched atop a somewhat familiar face. Somewhat familiar because, really, I'm not sure any of us had seen his whole face before. On Ree's blog, his hat is always pulled down, casting a shadow. So, I'm here to show you What the Marlboro Man Really Looks Like.

Oh, wait, now I know why there's no clear pictures of him on her blog. ;) Luckily, we were all both amused and delighted to find that MM had drummed (drummond?) up his own unofficial autograph/picture line. We jumped in and within just a little while, we were able to photograph him in all of his cowboy-hat-and-starched-shirt glory. We enjoyed hearing him tease the little blond-headed girl in front of us. "Do you paint fences? Do you like to ride horses?" He was offering to put her to work right away. =)

We got autographs and a few fun shots with him. I asked him if he'd ever seen his life turning out this way, say, ten years ago. He grinned and shook his head. "No," he said, congenially.

Signing Sandy's books

There's his face! Don't their boys look just like him??

MM with Bridget; I tried to get Bridget to ask about Cowboy Josh!

Me, getting him to sign on his silhouette...Sandy's idea

After our meeting with the Marlboro Man, whose real name is Ladd, incidentally, we looked around the store for a bit and then finally settled onto some empty benches near Ree's booksigning location. We were able to watch and listen and just hang out for awhile. It was everything a booksigning should be -and Davis-Kidd, I'm very impressed with you. =)

The time was drawing near for our group to be summoned and I think we were all feeling a bit nervous. I really wished we could just sit and talk with her for awhile, to not be rushed, because I say stupid things when I'm rushed and nervous and starstruck. Ugh. The funny thing is that I know that Ree Drummond is the same way - I've felt a kind of kinship with her about that. But Friday night she was all dressed up and fancy and beautiful and seemingly at ease. And I was nervous.

Ree told Sandy that she looked like Marsha Brady. 

And then she asked her if she knew who Marsha Brady was. 

Ha! Of course we do. We're not quite as young as we look. =)

So when it was my turn, I walked up and she asked, "How are you?" and I said something along the lines of, "Just...good...how are you?" A combination of "Just fine" and "Good." That's brilliant, Kristen. Brilliant. I think she glanced at my face to make sure I wasn't in the middle of a stroke or a meltdown or something. When she was satisfied that I wasn't, she started signing my book and I started telling her (with a little bit more ease) about the necklace I was wearing. It was made by a friend's brother and I thought it was something unusual that she'd be interested in. She was. She wondered, nicely, how he made it and how he came up with the idea. We talked for a minute about it and I left her with one of his business cards. We got a group picture made with Ree and then after we walked off, I could finally breathe again. Whew! That was fun!

Ree and me

I enjoy this picture quite a lot. =)

Yes, sure, I said my wedding vows in front of a few hundred people, feeling completely at ease; I can teach kindergarteners in Bible class without breaking a sweat; I emceed our Chamber of Commerce banquet when I was the executive director and I did fine...but put me in front of PW and my words tumble out in a jumbled mess. Ohhh. I just realized what I did wrong. I practice(d) for those other things. Why didn't I do a quick run through before the book signing?? Yeesh. Well, next time I'll know. =)

The thing is, it really was all fun. Despite my last-minute nervousness, the whole evening was nice and casual and low-key. Lots of downtime but still plenty of things to fill it with. And it was great to hang out with Sandy and Bridget, both of whom I got to know a little bit better.

All because of our common interest in what's going on at the ranch. And how it all started. =)