Sorry it’s taken so long to share this — we heard from a lot of you after we returned and wanted to put together a proper recap. True to form, we took way too many photos, debated which ones to use, and then decided to include plenty of words too. The result is this long, photo-filled post about our first book tour stop in Cincinnati, which felt like a whirlwind of amazing experiences crammed into about 36 hours.
We won’t bore you with every single detail from every tour stop over the coming months, but we’ll check in every week or two with updates alongside our usual DIY content. Since Cincinnati was our first stop, it felt too novel not to share the highlights right away. Below is an Instagram photo from our flight on Friday — a rare picture where both of our mouths are shut.
We flew out of Richmond around noon on Friday and headed to Cincinnati via Philadelphia. Clara and Burger stayed with my parents for the short trip, which meant our first night away from Clara. It felt like a milestone, but she did great — most toddlers have had a sleepover with grandparents by this age, so it seemed like good timing.
Our flight arrived about 90 minutes late. That delay mattered because we’d arranged to House Crash a local home that afternoon, and our hosts had to wait at the hotel longer than expected. They were incredibly gracious, though, and we still captured lots of beautiful photos even after the natural light was gone. We’ll share the full House Crash tour in a week or two, but here’s a sneak peek.
Note: To everyone who invited us to house crash — we wish we could have visited every single home!
Friday night still included some Cincinnati classics: Skyline Chili and Graeter’s ice cream. Locals warned us that Skyline can be an acquired taste, but I loved my “three-way” (chili, spaghetti, and a mountain of cheese), while Sherry enjoyed chili over a baked potato with plenty of hot sauce. At Graeter’s, known for its huge chocolate chunks, Sherry had black raspberry chip and I had cookie dough chip on a cone. It was delicious despite the cool weather.
The main event was Saturday’s Books By The Banks Festival. Seeing stacks of a book we actually wrote for the first time was surreal — before that day we had only seen one copy. It was an emotional moment (Sherry joked her nose went numb) and inspired a few goofy photos, including a Home Alone–inspired shot and a Where’s Waldo–style picture.
The festival opened at 10am, giving us about 45 minutes of signing practice before our 11am presentation. We wrote the presentation only a few days earlier and rehearsed it a handful of times — we avoid over-rehearsing to keep things natural — so stepping up in front of that crowd was nerve-wracking. Half the room looked like this; the other half was blurry in my shaky photo.
We had a rocky technical start when the slide remote failed, but people were very kind and said we did fine. Big thanks to Emily for the Instagram shot that makes us look confident — in reality we were both bouncing our knees under the table the whole time. #tablecloththankfulness
After the presentation we signed books and took photos with so many lovely people. Don’t be shy about asking for a picture — we’re happy to pose. Several readers suggested fun poses, like “see no, speak no, hear no evil” and the classic “what’s going on?” hands.
If you bring your child to a future stop, fair warning: Sherry will be in full-on fawning mode. The younger the kid, the more intense the reaction — especially when Clara isn’t with us.
We also met Dana Miller from HouseTweaking — she’s one of the guest bloggers featured in our book — and snapped a photo together. Meeting fellow bloggers and readers in person is such a highlight of doing this tour.
On the recommendation of many readers, we brought a blank dummy copy of our book to use as a tour yearbook. Folks signed it, left sweet notes, and some even drew pictures — adults included, after a little coaxing from Sherry. We ended up with portraits of Burger, castles, and a technicolor unicorn, among other treasures.
One memorable moment: someone brought a ceramic animal for Sherry to sign. That made her day. The crowd was overwhelmingly kind, patient, and fun — even when we sold out of books. Our publisher only had a limited number for the early event, so we signed book plates and took photos with those who didn’t get a copy that day.
Cincinnati set a very high bar for future stops. Everyone who made the drive, waited in line, and kept smiling even after the books ran out was incredibly gracious. A few people brought thoughtful gifts: a glass bird, a print for Clara, and a Kentucky horseshoe with grass seed. We were honestly overwhelmed by everyone’s generosity.
Laura kindly gave me a bottle of her favorite local ginger ale — Ale-8-One — which I intended to save until Aquatober ended, but the TSA confiscated it at the airport. So much for that plan.
The sweetest gesture of the day came from Riley, a little girl who spotted a Charley Harper book at another author’s table and thought Clara would like it. She handed it to us to take home, and Sherry cried — happy tears — right there in line. Clara adores the book from “her friend Riley.”
We officially wrapped up our obligations in the afternoon — although we stayed later than planned because our earliest flight wasn’t until evening — and took a bit of time to enjoy the tail end of the festival. We snapped a photo with a Berenstain Bears couple for Clara and walked around, taking in the last moments of the day.
We also ran into Bob and Cortney Novogratz, who were signing their book nearby. Our interaction was brief — both of us were trying to juggle presentations and travel — but we managed to trade signed copies and snap a couple of photos. It was wild to see HGTV personalities holding our book.
We also collected signatures from other authors we admire, including Gillian Flynn and Tad Hills, making the day feel even more surreal. It was one of those whirlwind experiences that doesn’t fully sink in until you flip through the photos later.
Before heading to the airport we had a little extra energy from the day’s excitement and even played around in the kids’ area at the terminal. We landed back in Richmond around 10pm, about 36 hours after we left, exhausted but still buzzing from all the kindness and fun.
Thank you to everyone who spent part of their Saturday coming out to see us. Your warmth and enthusiasm have us excited for the next stops on the tour (Manhattan, Wilton CT, and Ridgewood NJ on Nov 1st and 2nd) and for everything that follows. Most of all, we’re thrilled and a little amazed that our book is finally in readers’ hands. That’s the strangest, most wonderful part of this whole adventure: knowing that copies are out there being read and, we hope, enjoyed. Thanks for helping make that happen.