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On The Road Again

Man, it feels like it’s been a month since we had a book tour update for ya. Oh, that’s because it has. We were on hiatus while bookstores and retailers focused on the holiday rush (instead of hosting authors) so last week’s adventures in Texas and Florida were our first stops since finishing up in DC and Richmond in early December. And as much fun as stops in northern cities like Boston, Chicago, Toronto and Minneapolis were – we were excited to enjoy some warm weather in the southern half of the country. #longpostwarning

But then Austin had to go and look like this…

Austin 0 Rainy

Texas was apparently in a month-long drought until we (and our great weather luck) showed up and brought buckets of heavy rain. But that didn’t stop us from taking in some of this awesome city that people have been raving to us about (it was both of our first times in Austin). We walked a mile-ish in the misty weather to South Congress to do some eating (Guero’s) and shopping. For instance, Sherry hit up the Kendra Scott store and purchased these guys on sale (which she wore later that night to the signing, where she met dozens of other girls also wearing similar ones). In her words: “I did it, I came to Austin and I blended.”

Austin 2 Kendra Scott

After the always exciting earring shopping (just kidding, I’m a dude – so my eyes glazed over during that trip), we wandered into Uncommon Objects, which housed the coolest and quirkest assortment of antiques and weird wares. We were obedient shoppers and followed their “no photography” rule so the only picture we have to share is what we bought there after Sherry and I spent over an hour rooting through all their bins and baskets of old objects (this is our idea of a good time, and there were tons of wildly odd and amazingly old things to find).

We came home with an old tin 7, an assortment of old dominoes (which say 1-4-3, another favorite number of ours) and letter tiles (that spell L-O-V-E… as you can see). There’s talk of a shadowbox in their future for Clara’s big girl room, so we’ll have to see where they end up.

Austin Uncommon Objects

Once our shopping adventure had us sufficiently damp and sufficiently cold, we trudged back to our hotel to warm up and ready ourselves for that evening’s book signing. They put us up at the W Hotel downtown, which was pretty awesome (lots of modern tile and wallpaper) but we plan to do a recap post of all of our hotel inspiration (along with hotel-staying tips that we’ve picked up along the way) once the tour is over. So for now he’s a preview of the cool textures and patterns found in Austin:

Austin 1 Hotel

Our signing that night was at BookPeople, which is just about the biggest independent bookstore we’ve ever seen. So big they even had our names on a marque outside and a curtain for us to pop out of at the start of our welcome talk. The only thing missing was a giant spotlight or something. (Thanks Sidhya for the picture below).

Austin Curtain

Unlike our previous stops where we either gave a long talk or no talk at all, this particular week we were tasked with a 15 minute chat followed by some Q&A at each stop. Something we learned just the day before we left. Oh well. We work best under pressure.

Actually, thanks to the aforementioned rainy walk to South Congress and back, we were able to brainstorm and practice a little chat consisting of five ways that we found writing a book to be surprisingly different than writing a blog. And rather than transcribe it here, we asked Alison of the blog House of Hepworths t0 capture it on video for us. Thanks so much Alison! And for anyone wondering where Sherry’s bangs are, well you’ll get that answer and more. It’s a no holds barred conversation about everything from a future Petersik baby to getting a new house and everything in between:

If you watched the video, you may have noticed at one point I stopped to take a photo of Sherry while she talked. You never know when a photo might come in handy right? Sherry was not pleased with my impromptu photo session.

Austin Jamie Craft Blog Taking Pic

Jamie took the shot above. And here’s the shot I captured below. Can’t you just feel the eye-roll? I’ll probably get another one for actually including this gem in the post.

Austin Candid Shot

Following the chat and our brief Q&A session, we raced up the stairs to begin the signing portion of the evening. And like our other stops, amongst tons of smiling faces and energetic people there were some good stories to pass along. For example, look how smiley Sidhya, Alison, and Katie are. People ask if signings are overwhelming or tiring but meeting so many fun and happy people gives us almost an embarrassing amount of energy. We feed off of you guys and before we know it we’re all grin-y and hyper too.

Austin Sidhya Alison Katie

We love hearing all of the interesting stories that come up, like this poor woman who got in a fender bender on the way to the signing. Since she didn’t have any paper handy, she and her friend ended up using the back of our book to exchange insurance info with the other driver. Ha!

Austin Car Accident Writing

Audrey had a minor dental procedure the day before so she wasn’t able to talk or smile (her boyfriend emailed us ahead of time to explain why a seemingly unhappy not-chatting-at-all girl might step up to our table) so we commiserated with her and took this no-smiles-allowed picture.

Austin Dentally Unfortunate

And how cool is this? Megan and Brian both work at Home Depot so they brought us our very own apron, which was intricately designed by the lettering person at their store (shout out to the Evan Road Home Depot #6550!). It was so awesome it deserved a murtsy (that’s a man curtsy for anyone not familiar). Murtsying is the new planking. You heard it here first.

Austin Home Depot Apron

Being in Austin, we got lots of request to do “Hook ‘Em Horns” in our photos. It took Sherry a few tries to realize it wasn’t an aggressive, ready-to-charge style finger horn and it’s supposed to point up at the sky. At lease Celeste didn’t seem to mind.

Austin Celeste Hook Em

And of course there’s always the occasional goofy photo in the mix. The girls decided to do “over excited,” but I apparently went in a shocked / dental-exam direction.

Austin Crazy Shot Annette

And we can’t forget to mention Jess who has achieved a book signing hat trick by attending all three Texans signings. In honor of her achievement in book travel attendance, I whipped up this graphic. It’s no Golden Globe, but I tried. She explains more about her showcase of endurance on her blog.

Austin Jess

And lastly, thanks to the clever “I Like You A Whole Lotto” treat from Jamie (she got us each a scratch off card) I’ve officially won ten more dollars from the Texas State Lottery in my lifetime than from my own state’s games. As for Sherry, she came out with a big goose egg. Er, moon or anchor or something.

Austin Lottery

If you want to read some other accounts of our Austin stop, here’s one from Amanda & Corey and another from another Amanda (which includes a video shout out to her sick friend Ruthie). All in all, we had a blast in Austin. It was enough of a taste (albeit a dreary one) that we’d like to come back and explore for much more than a day.

Luckily our next stop – Miami, FL – was the exact opposite weather-wise. Hallelujah. The clouds parted and LMFAO started playing in our heads. Our publisher likes putting us up in unique, not-your-average-beige-walled hotels whenever they can (their goal is to try to get us into “not-chains with some flair” – and this spot in South Beach took the cake. It was called Dream and when we walked into the room, this is what greeted us. Well, minus the Sherry. Me-ow Miami. Am I right?

Miami 1 Blue Hotel Room

I’d never been to Miami before, so my impression of the city has been guided by music videos and the like. So the blue mood-lighting pretty much fit right into my picture of Miami. Couldn’t you see them shooting a Will Smith video here? And the uniqueness of this hotel didn’t stop there. Just check out the glass-doored bathroom. Our honest evaluation after a 24 hours stay is: we get the allure of a glass door on your shower, but the purpose of a “hey, look everyone!” toilet escapes us. It lead to several “I’m peeing- don’t look!” warnings over the course of our 24 hour stay. But all in all, it was a totally fun and over-the-top place to stay. Heck, it’s probably the most memorable hotel of the entire tour so far.

Miami 2 Glass Bathroom

Sidenote: the glass door also acts as an unintentional mirror for the user of the bathroom. As in, you can see your entire body sitting on the pot. You have been warned.

Moving on… we landed in Miami around 3pm, so after we got settled into our hotel room, we headed out for a late lunch/early dinner at the closest eatery we could find. And we wasted no time making the first of many seemingly non-stop Dexter references of the trip. Here’s Sherry’s I’m-in-Miami-so-I’ll-give-you-a-Dexter-pose pose.

Miami 4 Dexter At Lunch

We were running short on time before our signing that night, but we made sure to walk over to the beach for some obligatory sand-between-our-toes time. We only had about ten minutes to spare (and Sherry was wearing a sweater and jeans) but it was awesome.

Miami 3 Us On Beach

We didn’t want to leave. But alas, we had  a signing to attend to (plus we had forgotten our bathing suits – and if ever there were a beach not to be overdressed at… well, you’ve seen the music videos). So we headed to our signing at Books & Books in nearby Coral Gables. Maybe the Miami heat was just getting to us (not the basketball team), but it was just about the prettiest bookstore we had ever seen. There was this glowing courtyard surrounded on three sides by a Spanish-style building with a bar under an arched breezeway.

Miami Books Books Outside

And the inside was equally awe-inspiring. I want a room like this in my house. Stat.

Miami Books Books Inside

Like Austin, we kicked things off with a version of the same talk followed by Q&A. We again covered important topics like Sherry’s bangs (which were pinned back due to the frizz-inducing humidity). The signing portion of the day was a blast as usual. Sherry was happy to learn from Nicholl that her gold “Jersey” purse also doubled as a gold “Miami” purse. That’s my girl, fitting in with the locals wherever she goes.

Miami Nicholl Gold Bags

And Danielle sewed this adorable superhero cape for Clara – although Sherry’s sporting it more like a bib in this pic. I keep trying to get a picture of Clara wearing it now that we’re home but she won’t stand still once it’s velcroed on. She has one speed when the cape is on: fast.

Miami Danielle Cape Girl

Since our two events in Florida were fairly close geographically and neither bookstore was very large, the line wasn’t as long as we’ve seen in other places. Which meant by the time we got to the end we apparently hadn’t depleted our small-talk tank and proceeded to talk the ears of the last few folks in line. Bethany (far right in the photo below) wrote about the whole thing, including a run down of some of the questions we answered earlier in the evening. She also had a funny run-in with Sherry in the restroom. Thank goodness those doors weren’t glass.

Miami Back Of Line

Since our next stop in Fort Lauderdale was only about a 45 minute car ride away, Thursday was probably the most chill tour day we’ve had so far. Usually it’s all “get up crazy early to taxi to the airport so we can fly out and then taxi to our next hotel before taxiing to the event and somehow eating something better than airport food when possible.” But this one day we got to sleep in, catch up on some work, eat a sit down breakfast, and take in some of the awesome architecture along Ocean Drive. In a whirlwind trip (six flights in four days!) this was that one leisurely moment. So we were dedicated to soaking it up.

Miami 6 Breakwater

When we arrived in Fort Lauderdale early in the afternoon we took a moment to take in our hotel – which included this view from our balcony – and then headed out to grab a bite to eat. We didn’t realize just how far our hotel was from all of the action so we ended up walking over 3 miles before finally landing at Casablanca Cafe. It was actually an awesome walk though. And it felt good to stretch our legs from all of that time spent in taxis and on planes. Our pictures from this portion of the trip started to become fewer and farther between, as I think Florida was starting to trick us into thinking we were on vacation or something.

Ft Lauder View

So forgive me for jumping ahead, but after having an awesome lunch (we highly recommend Casablanca Cafe), we caught a taxi back to our hotel (we didn’t have time to walk the 3 miles back and make it to our event in time), quickly changed into our signing “uniforms,” and then headed to The Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale which has a Books & Books in its gift shop. From there, it was pretty much the same chat and Q&A that we had done the last two nights – except this time we had sharks! (The museum was in the process of packing up their shark exhibit, so it was right next to our podium).

Ft Lauder Craftbaby Talk Sharks

The people of Fort Lauderdale were a great way to cap off this week of signings. Friendly, warm, and even somewhat familiar – we had one guy stop by who we’d seen the night before in Miami (hi Steve!) and Sherry also met the sister of one of her high school friends (hi Erin!). There was also Jenna, who had us sign her well-loved paintbrush.

Ft Lauder Jenna Paintbrush2

While that wasn’t the first paintbrush we’ve signed, I will say Caitlin handed us the first Lowe’s receipt we were asked to put our mark on. Well, I take that back, I’ve signed lots of Lowe’s receipts in my day… but usually at the checkout counter.

Ft Lauder Singing Lowes Receipt

But perhaps the cutest thing we were asked to autograph that day was this little guy’s homemade shirt. In case you can’t read it, Otto is sporting a “$herdog is my homegirl” shirt. Oh, and a bowtie. Which kinda makes the outfit.

Ft Lauder Sherry Is Homegirl

When the signing was over we unexpectedly had the time and energy left to grab a real dinner, so we strolled down Las Olas Blvd and found ourselves walking into The Royal Pig – and were immediately met by a gasp. Jen (at the right) and her sister had been at the signing earlier and was surprised to see us again. So after we scarfed an amazing dinner (the food in Ft Lauderdale was the best of the trip so far, just because we had time to enjoy two meals and we happened to love both of them) we chatted it with her and took another photo to cap off the night. You can read her hilarious version of the events on her blog.

Austin Jen At Royal Pig

Then the next morning it was back to the ol’ airport routine and we boarded flights #5 and #6 of the journey. At least each of these plane rides got us closer to home.

Ft Lauder Plane

And when we finally landed in Richmond Friday afternoon we got the best greeting. As we exited security we heard a familiar voice yelling “Daddy! Mommy!” and running our way. We had expected to just meet my dad in the arrivals lane outside the airport, but he and mom (who played baby/house/Burger-sitters while we were away) surprised us by bringing Clara to the airport to greet us. Oh what I would give to have that moment on video. Let’s just say it got Sherry all misty-eyed. We missed our girl.

Ft Lauder Richmond

We had this week off from touring, but we’re back on the road next week (Tacoma on Friday, Portland on Saturday, and Palo Alto on Sunday). You can see all the details here on our book tour page. We can’t wait to West Coast it up and hope to see some of you then. Oh yeah, and if there are any strings you can pull to get Miami weather up there in the Pacific Northwest we’d like to officially submit that request now. Thanks for your consideration.

Comments

  4. Steph says

    Jut a question, when does your book tour officially end? Am I being silly for hoping Philly will still add a tour date, or is it too late at this point? :(
    I seriously can’t say anything else about this post other than that baby is pretty much the cutest thing in the entire world.

    Reply

  6. Janelle says

    Looks like so much fun! The glass-door toilet thing is weird. AT our “charming” place we have a sliding (barn style) door to the bathroom that leaves a gap. SO awkward when we have guests!

    Reply

  8. Maureen says

    I think Sherry’s horns came out that way since she is Italian. The ol’ Sicilian curse comes to mind. lol She probably just has it in her naturally. :)

    What awesome hotels and bookshops! It’s so cool to see how different each place is.

    Reply

  9. Ashleigh says

    We stayed in a hotel in Amsterdam where the bathroom was behind a glass partition, and it wasn’t even floor to ceiling so as well as being able to see in/out you could also hear what was going on.

    We weren’t fans!!!

    xox

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yeah, they’re awesome! The cool thing is that sometimes non-chain hotels are way cheaper! Most of our nightly rates are $99-150, which we think is really reasonable for the cool places we’re staying!

      xo
      s

  18. Ashleigh says

    LOVE hearing about your tours! Keep them coming! Small typo though- “…surprised us by bring Clara to the airport to greet…” You forgot the -ing :)
    Happy Friday!

    Reply

  19. Tiffany says

    I loved reading ya’lls rundown of that part of the tour – it almost felt like I was there with you! Which coincidentally, I was supposed to be! I was planning on going to the Coral Gables stop, but decided to sneeze and pinch a nerve in my back :-( So I was bedridden the days that you were in Florida instead. I lived in Coral Gables during my college days and hope you guys got to take in the sites – that place is amazingly gorgeous.

    Reply

  20. Chelsea says

    Such a great update! I’m originally from just south of Coral Gables in Miami, and this had me seriously homesick. There’s no bookstore as awesome as the Gables’ Books & Books! Glad to see you guys had a good time.

    Reply

  24. Hilary says

    It was amazing meeting y’all in Austin! I wish I could have gone to all three Texas signings like Jess :) that would have been awesome. Y’all are such an inspiration!

    Reply

    • Amanda says

      That’s so funny! I saw when Jess came up to you guys and was hugging y’all like crazy. LOL! I asked my brother sheepishly, “can we do that too?” He replied, “Uhhh… I think she knows them already.” lol

  25. Jamie says

    AND y’all have to come to Austin when the weather doesn’t suck. There are so many fun things to do, see, and eat here. I think you guys would totally appreciate the cathedral of junk! One last thing, here’s a more info about I love/like you a whole lotto and You’re a whole lotto fun :) That’s all (for today)! Happy Friday!

    Reply

  26. Virginia says

    Maybe it’s just me, but your description of the glass-door bathroom gave me flashbacks of the pocket bathroom doors at your first house. does anyone else remember that post? I get that glass doors are all cool and modern, but I’m definitely with you on the shower-doors-only rule.

    Reply

  27. Katherine B says

    Right now in the Pacific Northwest the weather is amazing! Cold, yes, but very sunny and every day we have the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets. No clouds all day long! (However, this might change by next week :( )

    Reply

  28. Katelyn Hickman says

    Gah! I can’t believe that I lived in Austin for years and then move to Denver (where, BTW, y’all are NOT visiting) and I miss getting to meet you both! Good call on Guero’s Mexican though, glad you enjoyed Austin! :)

    Reply

  29. Kelley says

    Gah!! So sad I didn’t get to see y’all in Austin… However my one month old baby made the 1.5 hour drive impossible. Thanks for the rain, though! You even brought it to San Antonio!

    Reply

  31. Catherine says

    This may have been said before (since I’m at work I won’t take the time to sift back through the other book signing posts), but you guys should make an Instagram book of your tour! You have such fun pictures and it would be a great addition to the yearbook!

    (P.S. Glad you didn’t run into Dexter in Miami!)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That would be so much fun! Love it. we want to make a little video overview (with pics in a slide show with music) so a lot of Instagram pics will make it into that I’m sure!

      xo
      s

  32. Bethany says

    Loved meeting you guys (although I’m pretty sure WE talked YOUR ears off, not the other way around). PeggySueH– (as I’ve taken to calling her, all one word), texted me right away with “we’re on the blog”. Totally made my morning; although in all honesty considering I just woke up, nothing else has happened today (benefits of having a day off). But I’ll keep you updated if anything else happens tonight to knock you guys off the top of the list.

    Reply

  33. Angie says

    Hi!
    I know I’m sooooo late to the ‘book party’, but I just got a copy from my library, and I just wanted to say how incredible it is!! I absolutely love it–it is steller from start to finish! I’ve been disappointed by so many blogger’s books that just take most of their material from their blog verbatum, and you guys obviously went waaaaay above and beyond. Anyway, the book is wonderful–I’m a long time reader, and can’t wait to see what you guys do next! Lots of love! xo :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw thanks so much Angie! You have no idea how great that is to hear!! Seriously, thanks so much for the kind words. That book is our baby at this point, so we’re so glad you like our baby. Haha!

      xo
      s

  34. ruben says

    Make sure you eat at the In-and-Out burger when you are in Cali!!!!!!!
    it is literally the best burger in the world. Get the animal style and do not forget the chocolate milkshake!

    That’s all i have for now!
    oh, and Safe travels! ;)

    Reply

  35. Karen F says

    thanks for “bringing” us with you – I love reading the recaps! And the home depot apron as well as the superhero cape are probably the coolest things ever!

    Reply

  37. Jill says

    I love the picture of you two on the beach. It definately needs to find a spot in a frame. Pure beauty, joy and love.

    So happy for you all and the great experience you’re having.

    Reply

  39. Lauren Hill says

    I’m famous!!!! Haha, that’s the back of my head under John peaking out of the curtains at BookPeople. Also, I was the one who asked the bangs question. You guys were awesome and hilarious.

    Do you guys actually give Clara all the gifts people bring for her? I don’t just ask because I gave you a longhorn sock monkey, but because I could understand how you wouldn’t want to inundate her with toys from (well meaning) strangers.

    Maybe someday I’ll spot the tiny glass Burger I gave y’all! It’s too bad about the rain, it was in the 70s and beautiful the day after you left Austin!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Aw you’re so sweet Lauren! Yes, we’re like Santa every time we come home. Clara loves her longhorn sock monkey! It’s mostly just little treats like books and stuffed animals so it’s not too bad. She loves to fill her crib with stuffed animals and read every book she can get her hands on! And the tiny glass Burger is adorable. Dude, he’s smaller than a penny!

      xo
      s

  40. Krystle Clark says

    Hey Sherry and John! So glad to see that your trip went well! You may remember me from your Richmond stop (Sherry – I gave you the pair of Sara Blaine Designer Earrings). I hope this doesn’t sound crazy but I was thinking last night…. Sherry, I would love to help style you for some of your gigs! If you ever need a necklace, bracelet, or earrings to wear for a special event — I’d love to let you borrow some of my jewelry to wear! Win Win for us both! You’d have beautiful jewelry to wear and I can only hope it would help my business grow some too! The earrings you bought in Austin remind me a lot of the design I have available here at 25% off: http://krystleclark.jewelry.willowhouse.com/product.aspx?zpid=6874 . Feel free to shoot me an email anytime you want to borrow some Jewels (I’m in Richmond too)! Thanks so much — LOVE your blog!

    Reply

  42. Danielle Ferretti in Miami says

    Awwwwwwww you are SO cute and sweet to have featured the Clara SuperHero cape picture ! Made my day to be mentioned (and pictured) on my all time favorite (to a stalking point) blog ! And we are on first name basis… That’s it, I am coming over for dinner tonight since I feel like we are super close friends now…. LOL

    I am just happy I don’t look as starstruck and as awkwardly sweaty and nervous as I was when I met you !

    Thinking back now, I should have made a cape for Burger as well – and you would have had not one, but 2 blurs running around the house with Warp Super Speed ! <3

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      LOL, oh man – a Burger cape would’ve been hilarious. Although sometimes when he’s got something on his back he’s determined to chew it off, so maybe it’s for the best. Thanks again for Clara’s adorable cake. She truly does love it!

      -John

  43. Brenda says

    Love the earrings Sherry bought! I have no idea what the designers of that glass bathroom door were thinking. No, thanks! I love getting to see all the pics of you and your various fans. Sounds like it was a pretty great leg of the book tour. :)

    Reply

  44. Christina @ Homemade Ocean says

    I am sooo happy that you all are having so much fun meeting so many people who adore you! And that kid of yours…freaking adorable!

    I will say I am with you on Miami….what you mean Pitbull videos don’t do it justice or something? All I know is what I see on MTV mmmmkay :)

    Reply

  45. erin says

    As a Pacific Northwesterner, I just have to say that you’ll want to bring gloves, sweaters, and umbrellas. It is chilly up here! I live about 4 hours south of Portland, but I’m going to try and make it to the signing!

    Reply

  46. Jes says

    Thanks for the Ft Lauderdale restaurant recommendations! I’m visiting with my friend next month. She lives in Chicago, and I love her, but we picked a warmer place to meet.

    You guys are adorbs!

    Reply

  47. Shellie says

    Ohh man, I am way excited the Palo Alto stop has been added. I can’t wait! I’ve been going over what I want to say to you guys in my head, lol. Also I printed out before and after pictures of my kitchen you guys inspired to show you! #uberdork

    Reply

  49. Jess @ Crunchy Hot Mama says

    HOLY MONKEY!!! I can’t believe you did it again! I’m not sure if I’m honored or look like a stalker ;)

    I have to say it was hard to leave the warmth of my parent’s house that night in Austin, but am very glad we did. Did you notice the video bomb at 26 minutes in? Yeah, that’s Emma waving the sword around and me snapping pix…sorry about that :P

    It was soo great to meet and see you guys all three times! Thanks for not making it creepy and letting you follow me around (and even putting me in 2 posts!) :) Safe travels on the rest of your tour. xoxo

    Reply

  50. Amanda says

    Thank you SO much for asking Alison to record your Austin talk! I was bummed about only capturing 1 minute of your goofy and loveable selves, that I squealed with joy when I saw the whole 30 minutes is here! And one of the coolest things is I am right at the bottom beside my brother. It’s like reliving that fun night all over again!

    Reply

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