The funny part about sharing our Oprah-related experience during blogiversary week is that we nearly appeared on Oprah’s show during our very first blogiversary — spoiler: we were bumped last minute by Ty Pennington and some twins in need of a makeover. Five years later, things have come full circle. Yes, that was an O pun.
First, the exciting news. If you missed the short film when it aired on Sunday, the kind team at OWN provided a clip to share. Here it is.
The great thing about working with Oprah’s team is how they encourage you to pause and reflect on what home really means to the people who live there. Watching the final edit — a day’s worth of footage condensed thoughtfully — brought that meaning into sharp focus for us. It reminded us that worrying about how a project looks or whether it turned out “right” doesn’t define a home. Those details are just part of the journey, and if you can step back and enjoy the ride, that makes the process far more rewarding. We’re not pretending to be philosophers, but Oprah’s editors sure know how to make you feel warm and fuzzy.
One truly surreal moment was hearing Oprah say our names in the intro just before the clip aired — pronunciation and all. Naturally, we taped it off our TV.
Right after the segment aired, Oprah even tweeted a quote from our clip. Not only did she say our names — she listened to what we had to say. Mind. Blown.
How did this happen? Rewind to last November, over ten months ago, when our book tour took us to Chicago — Oprah’s hometown. Through our publisher we learned that a producer at Harpo, Oprah’s production company, hoped to meet us while we were in town. Our visit was brief, so the meeting was casual: “meet in the hotel lobby a couple of hours before a book signing” casual.
Heather, the producer you’ll see in the segment, was warm and enthusiastic about finding a way to collaborate. When she suggested a three-minute short film, we thought it would be fun to try.
We admittedly freaked out a little, which is clear from the text exchange between Sherry and Roo.
The shoot took place in May while we were still living in our old house. And because no behind-the-scenes account is complete without a “John had to put on makeup” photo, here it is.
The day was relatively easy for a shoot. We’d developed a friendly rapport with Heather (she’s standing on the far left in the photo below), and the rest of the crew were talented and pleasant to work with.
Funny story: within ten minutes of the crew arriving, Sherry threw out her back for the first time ever. While doing last-minute cleaning in the living room, she leaned over the sofa, felt a sudden pull, and collapsed onto the couch. She couldn’t move, struggled to roll onto her back while hoping nobody would see her floundering, and then stood up very slowly. She slipped into the bathroom and called the doctor, who recommended high-dose Tylenol and lots of rest. The pain meds kicked in and she made it through the day, though a bit stiff — which explains why Sherry later joked that she “waddled like a duck on national TV” during some walking scenes.
One of our favorite moments was watching the crew capture beautiful shots of our frame hallway. Their skill transformed familiar spaces into cinematic moments.
Clara was at school or napping for most of the shoot, but she joined us for a family cookie-baking scene. I love this shot — it looks like Clara’s hosting her own little cooking show.
We even visited the new house with the crew so they could film footage about our “next chapter.” None of that made the final cut, which was probably for the best — we were still getting the place settled and didn’t want anyone scrutinizing it too closely.
We’re incredibly grateful to Heather and the Harpo team for their enthusiasm and professionalism. We’ve always admired Oprah, and now we have even greater respect for the people and effort supporting her work. For the record, we never met Ms. Winfrey during this process — she’s known around the office simply as Oprah — but who knows what another five blogiversaries might bring.