Hooray — our publisher finally locked in several dates you’ve been asking about and even added a few extra stops. We’ll share those dates at the end of this post. First, here’s our once-every-two-weeks tour recap covering our most recent appearances (the last ones of 2012 before the tour resumes in January).
After our whirlwind week away in mid-November, we had Thanksgiving off and then returned for two events in Washington, DC and one in our hometown of Richmond. Our first stop was at the FLOR store in Georgetown. The shop’s cozy footprint meant a chilly line outside, and we’re so grateful everyone braved the weather. The FLOR team spoiled us with popcorn, wine, hot chocolate and what may be the best cookies I’ve ever eaten. (If you noticed two women sneaking in before the doors opened, that was our cousin Cat and my sister Carrie — priority line privileges.)
Someone kept telling people they’d seen me wandering and making phone calls — but that was actually Patrick, who helped organize the event and was mistaken for me more than once. A few folks asked, “Why isn’t John upstairs signing?” which made for some funny moments later. Patrick’s resemblance was enough that his daughter looked at a photo and asked why “daddy” was standing with “that lady.”
Also notable: a paper Burger on a stick showed up in a few photos — a prop Nickie and her friend brought — and yes, we still have it around the house.
We met some memorable people at the FLOR event. One highlight was meeting Miss District of Columbia, who even let me try on her crown — a definite bucket-list moment.
Georgetown Cupcakes was across the street, so we were showered with sweet treats — including a dozen personalized with our initials from Emily, Melanie and Danielle. Emily actually works at the cupcakery, which explained the extra-special touch.
We also met Jeannette, who once worked on the production team for True Blood. Sherry insisted on breaking out her “vampire face” for a photo — a theatrical touch that ended up being pretty funny.
Because the event was near my old hometown, I ran into some familiar faces, including Jenny from my high school. She tracked down a Cat’s Meow wooden keepsake of our school as a funny nostalgic gift — I can’t believe that thing exists.
One sweet surprise: Bob emailed ahead to ask us to congratulate his wife Katie on her recent wedding. He planned to write “Bob” on the bottom of the ceramic owl she was bringing so we could identify her. The surprise worked perfectly — Katie was shocked and very happy, and Bob earned major points.
Men definitely attend these events — and we love that. Jimmy came solo and had us sign a toy wrench for his son. Another young fan wore a homemade “I Heart YHL” onesie, which made for a memorable photo op.
We took a few deliberately strange photos too, including one staged with the direction, “There’s something scary in the corner.” I like that it looks like I’m trying to avoid the absurdity happening nearby.
Sherry also posed with readers she jokingly called her “twins” — people wearing similar blazers or shirts. The evening was captured by several attendees; if you want other perspectives on the night, some attendees shared recaps online.
The FLOR event ran until after 11pm, so our drive back to Richmond got us home around 1:15am. Two days later we headed back to DC for a LivingSocial event at 918 F Street. They surprised us by decorating their windows with ornaments inspired by crafts we made last year, which was a lovely touch.
LivingSocial’s space is designed for events, classes and group experiences. We were there to sign books and lead two crafting classes based on projects from our book. Each 90-minute session hosted about 50 people, and we taught three holiday-themed projects: paint-swirled ornaments, glass-hurricane centerpieces painted with metallics, and striped wooden candlesticks adapted from book projects.
We’d planned with LivingSocial in advance, so everything was ready when attendees arrived. Despite initial nerves (we’d never taught a crafting class before and hadn’t scripted anything), both sessions flowed well. People worked efficiently and most projects dried enough to take home after the signing portion. A few glass vases needed another coat of gold paint, but overall everyone finished strong.
Sherry joined in on crafting and produced festive striped candlesticks that she finished with another coat before gifting them to a guy whose girlfriend couldn’t attend. Our painted ornaments now hang on our mini tree at home. The crafting afternoon was more about hanging out, meeting readers, signing books and having fun — so seeing great results was an extra bonus. We loved when people mixed metallic paint across projects, pairing it with raw wood for a nice contrast.
The LivingSocial team was amazing, and after two crafting sessions and a couple hundred additional people for signing, we had a full day — leaving Richmond at 7am and returning at 9pm. Highlights included Sherry signing spray-paint cans and even writing on a mirror in lipstick for a reader who convinced her to do it.
One reader asked me to sign a middle-school yearbook; thank goodness my eighth-grade photo looked okay, because ninth grade brought braces and a closed-mouth grimace. We also recreated fun poses with readers who shared nostalgic memories of Funland and even demonstrated what a fictional “bionworks” looks like — a childhood creature I once described as Bear + Lion + Fireworks.
After the LivingSocial events, our final stop of the year was just 15 minutes from home at Mongrel in Richmond, one of our favorite local shops. Mongrel is packed with cards, books, gifts and quirky finds — the kind of place that inspired a wrapping-paper project in our book. They don’t usually host signings, so we were honored they wanted to welcome us. The store came prepared (there was even a playful “bouncer” on duty), and readers brought thoughtful treats: Anna baked red and blue cookies, and Rachel, a professional stylist, gifted Sherry hair-cutting supplies to upgrade our DIY haircuts at home.
At Mongrel we signed shirts, drew custom sheets for a weekly-photo project, and met readers who shared unique mementos and stories. For example, Sherry drew a backdrop for Robyn’s weekly photo series and I added a “Week 41” detail. We loved meeting everyone and seeing how they incorporated our projects into their lives.
That wraps up our tour stops for 2012. It’s been an incredible few weeks, and while we’re excited to resume in January, we’re enjoying time at home with the baby and Burger and sleeping in our own bed. To date we’ve spent roughly 41 hours signing books — not counting crafting sessions, presentations, setup, or travel. It’s a lot of time on the road, but meeting so many of you has been worth every minute. We truly appreciate you.
Now for the official tour update: we’ll be hitting the Bay Area of California after our Tacoma and Portland dates, and when we head to Charlotte we’ll continue down I-85 to stop in Atlanta as well. Unfortunately, scheduling issues forced us to cancel the planned Grand Cayman stop.
You can find full details — where we’ll be, times, and how to RSVP for each date — on our Book Tour Page. If you already RSVP’d for the NYC event in November, your name is already included for the new January date, so there’s no need to RSVP again. We hope to see many of you at the next nine stops starting in a few weeks. Happy weekend, and to all a good night!