Quick note: Tomorrow (Saturday) we’ll be in Dallas at 11am at the West Elm on 5307 East Mockingbird Lane for cookies, cocoa and a book signing. We’d love to see you there!
We’re back with an update from the book tour and life on the road — fair warning, it’s long. It’s sooner than we planned (our last update was a week ago), but so much has happened that we’re excited to share it all. First: some amazing news — our book became an instant New York Times bestseller. We’re still pinching ourselves. The official list will print on 11/25, but we received a sneak peek and called our parents immediately. There were tears of happiness, a few jokes, and a lot of gratitude. This milestone is truly thanks to our incredible readers — whether you bought a copy, came to a signing, or left an encouraging comment early on, you made this possible.
We’re still learning how bestseller lists work, but the takeaway is clear: we have the best audience. Seriously — we couldn’t have done it without you. If this is all a dream, we’re enjoying every minute.
Back to signings: we want to catch you up on recent stops, starting where we left off after Boston. We flew back to Richmond last Thursday and soon found ourselves at our hometown event, “R for the Holidays.” R.Home magazine invited us to be on the Nov/Dec cover and surprised us by featuring that image large at the event. It felt surreal; we’ve written a DIY column for them in the past and have attended every R.Home for the Holidays event as guests, so being speakers this year was both an honor and a little mind-bending.
We auctioned off several projects from the book that night — two desks, two chairs, a bookshelf, a mirror, and a rug — to support The School of Richmond’s Ballet, which provides dance lessons to children who otherwise couldn’t afford them. Our auction raised $500 for local kids, which made the whole evening even more meaningful. Before the auction, Sherry checked drawers for any surprises — real-life prep, hashtag keeping it real.
The program opened with Adam Roberts from The Amateur Gourmet talking about turning his blog into the cookbook Secrets of the Best Chefs. He was brilliant and hilarious. Then we shared seven DIY lessons we’ve learned along the way — many through trial and error. We were nervous, we over-shared a little, and the crowd was wonderfully warm and smiley.
After the talk came the signing portion of the night, which keeps becoming a favorite. We love chatting with people, taking funny photos, and meeting readers who’ve followed along for years. We met familiar Richmond faces and lots of new friends, including Hallie, who won our “trip to Richmond” giveaway and flew in with her mom for a whirlwind visit. They packed a lot into a short weekend and left happy.
We also had fun encounters like meeting someone who really does resemble Meryl Streep (she even has a Meryl reference on her license plate), signing a baby onesie with a tiny hammer doodle, and receiving thoughtful gifts like a Justin Timberlake bobblehead and sugar cookies iced to look like Burger. The generosity and creativity of our readers never fails to make us smile.
After Richmond we flew to Chicago. We squeezed in some blog work and stopped by a home we admire from Making It Lovely. It was great to meet Nicole and photograph her space from new angles — more on that in a future House Crashing post. Before the West Elm event in Lincoln Park, we made a quick tourist stop at the Cloud Gate (the “bean”) for a classic photo — Sherry loves shiny things.
Meanwhile, fans were already lining up at Lincoln Park. One reader, Christina, drove overnight from St. Louis and camped out starting at 5:30am for a 1pm event — talk about dedication. The Chicago crowd and West Elm staff were fantastic, even when a sudden thunderstorm rolled through. People enjoyed cocoa and cookies while we signed books, heard sweet engagement stories (one couple used our book to hide a marriage proposal at the bean), and received handmade gifts like a sparkly Burger portrait and a handbound photo book of Clara’s project from week one through month 29. Sherry may have cried — in a happy way.
After Chicago we returned to Richmond briefly to rest, do laundry, and spend time with Clara and Burger, who stayed with my parents while we were away. Then we flew to Toronto. We admired the CN Tower from below, enjoyed moose-themed souvenirs, and stayed in a great hotel with a double-sided glass shower that we’ll feature later in a hotel-crash post.
Toronto’s West Elm crowd was warm and generous, bringing treats like maple donuts and thoughtful artwork for Clara. We even had a FaceTime surprise cameo during the event. Sherry met a “Canadian twin” who shared a similar blazer-and-stripes look, and we got to help a mom-to-be make an announcement with playful signs. That night we indulged in our first memorable room-service poutine — cheap and totally satisfying.
We also appeared on Global TV’s The Morning Show with short notice — an exciting live TV debut that required last-minute prop improvisation when some items didn’t arrive. We borrowed decor from West Elm and used grocery-store finds to fill in, then went on live feeling equal parts nervous and exhilarated. It was a whirlwind, but a great experience.
As the week wraps up, we want to say thank you again. Without you, there would be no book, no signings, and no place on that bestseller list. Your support means everything to us. We finish this big stretch of the tour in Dallas tomorrow and will share more updates after stops in Minneapolis and Houston in the coming weeks. We’re having a blast meeting readers and doing our best to keep the blog updated while traveling.
P.S. If you can’t make a signing and want a signed copy, Fountain Books in Richmond is shipping autographed copies.