Quick note: Tomorrow (Saturday, November 10th) we’ll be in Chicago at the West Elm on 1000 W North Avenue for cookies, cocoa, and a book signing at 1pm (arriving early might help you get a jump on the line). More info here. We’d love to see you there!
Welcome to our biweekly book-tour recap — if you’re into these, great; if not, we promise there are at least a few entertaining moments. The last week was shaped by wild weather across the Northeast: Hurricane Sandy followed by a surprise Nor’easter. That storm activity overlapped almost exactly with several of our scheduled stops, so the trip became equal parts adventure and concern. Our first priority was checking on friends and family in the affected areas and making sure everyone stayed safe, warm, and had power.
When the SoHo West Elm in New York reported a power outage, that signing had to be postponed — totally understandable. But events in Connecticut and New Jersey had power restored and the hosts wanted to keep their appointments as a way to give locals a break from the stress of outages and clean-up. We welcomed the chance to visit family, bring a few supplies, and see how everyone was doing, so on Thursday around noon we packed the car and headed to Wilton, Connecticut.
There was a personal scare too: Sherry developed a kidney infection but was diagnosed and started on antibiotics in time to recover and join the trip. Her PSA: if you have strong lower-back pain on one or both sides, plus fever or nausea, see a doctor right away.
Clara came along to spend time with Sherry’s mom (Nonna) while we handled signing duties. Burger stayed with my parents — Grammy and TomTom were happy to watch him. The drive ended up taking about nine hours, with the usual mix of long stretches and kid wrangling, but we made it.
We arrived at our hotel in Connecticut late the first night, well past Clara’s bedtime, and the next morning set up at the Wilton Library — a lovely space with a warm, welcoming crowd. Whether they came to see us or to enjoy a heated building, we were grateful to be there. A friendly attendee, Crystal, took a photo right before we started our presentation — we promise we were more energized inside than we appear in that picture.
Crystal wrote a sweet recap of her morning and even recreated our book-cover pose with her husband — we loved it. The Wilton audience was kind and enthusiastic, and Sherry had fun signing a ceramic animal while her face lit up the way it always does when she gets creative with keepsakes.
People brought thoughtful little gifts, including a charm made from a tiny printed thumbnail of our book cover. Little tokens like that are such a delight; we truly appreciate the kindness people show at these events.
We also finally met Connecticut blogger-friend Roo from SemiProper. She didn’t mind when we hinted that she, Sherry, and Clara pose on the animal statues outside the library. Roo is a whiz with stick-figure drawings and challenged me to sketch something in her book; I contributed a goofy drawing and Roo returned the favor with a much more polished entry for our tour yearbook.
After Wilton we drove back toward New Jersey and stopped for a delicious lunch at a sandwich shop owned by readers Kristin and Bill — a perfect mid-day pick-me-up. They later shared a photo that captures Clara being an honest, normal two-year-old, which will likely resurface as friendly parental blackmail at some point.
On arrival in New Jersey we discovered our hotel check-in was locked due to storm-related closures and there were no vacancies within a wide radius. Fortunately, a family friend of Sherry’s mom offered a spare room with heat and power; we were hugely relieved. With a place to stay secured, we headed to Bookends in Ridgewood for the signing.
We didn’t know who could make it given gas lines and outages, but folks still came out, and we were grateful for everyone who did. The crowd was smaller than expected but warm and friendly, including a little boy named Greysen who enjoyed playing trains with Clara. We completely understand that prioritizing heat and supplies is vital — book signings can wait.
After the signing we stayed with Nonna’s friend for the night and slept like rocks, grateful for warm beds. Instead of driving home the next morning, we spent more time with family: breakfast with Sherry’s dad, stepmom, and grandma, and an early Thanksgiving gathering with the Nonna side of the family. Clara enjoyed time with her Uncle Monkey (aka Sherry’s brother Dan), who tolerated a steady stream of nose pokes and giggles.
We left in the evening and drove back to Richmond, arriving tired but happy, and benefited from an extra hour thanks to Daylight Savings.
Four days later we were up at 4:45am to catch a flight to Boston for a West Elm signing. Early flights are rough, but landing in Boston early gave us time to explore before the Nor’easter arrived. We grabbed a burger with my cousin Casey and her husband Kevin and squeezed in a visit to the Mapparium — a three-story stained-glass globe that was totally worth the stop.
As the signing approached, rain turned to snow and we worried nobody would come. To our surprise, there was already a line at West Elm when we arrived. The store had hot cocoa and cookies for everyone, and they kept the waiting area inside, which made a big difference given the weather. The cookies were huge and delicious, and the staff made the event comfortable despite the storm outside.
Inside the warm store, people were friendly and excited to be there. Sherry signed a stack of ceramic accessories, including snow globes and many colorful owl figures, and we enjoyed meeting longtime readers and new faces alike. Several friends and cousins also made it out, and a few attendees surprised us with UVA shirts — go team!
Boston and West Elm were fantastic hosts despite the less-than-ideal weather. We flew back to Richmond afterwards, and Clara’s joyful reaction when we told her we’d seen snow made the whole whirlwind worthwhile.
We had our Richmond event last night as well — that recap will come in a future post. Right now we’re writing this from the airport before another flight to Chicago, so comments may be delayed. Thanks again to everyone in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Boston who came out during a challenging week, and thanks to everyone who stuck with this long recap. Your support means the world.