Today I went to meet my blogging Mentor. Her name is Ree Drummond, and to those of us who follow her blog online, she is The Pioneer Woman, or PW, or P-dub.

She recently published a BEAUTIFUL cookbook which hit #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. We’re all so proud of her. “We” meaning her fans, and her un-authorized apprentices. She has taught us how to cook, take great pictures, use Photoshop, Home school our children, love our hubbys, and laugh with her at ourselves. You can check out her blog here.

She has been on a book tour for the last few weeks and on Sunday she made a So Cal appearance in Torrance. Of course, being one of her un-authorized apprentices and all… I had to be there.

I got my Starbucks for the road… a Venti, Iced, Caramel Brulle, Latte to be exact. It’s a new flavor and let me tell you… It is FRIENDLY! Yum!

Keys in the ignition…

Radio tuned to 92.9 FM KFROG, my favorite country radio station…

Time is 4:03 PM…Drive should take an hour and thirty one minutes according to the GPS… Book Signing starts at 5:00 PM… I’m perfectly on time according to my “always running just a bit late” schedule.

Hey check it out… those things in the backseat are empty. Amazing! That almost never happens. Hmmmm… now if only I had a hot date…

There he is!

Look at that handsome driver. Such a good sport.

Yes… he was laughing at me and my star-struck ways, saying to himself,”Are we really about to do this?”

So nice of him to escort me to my book signing in Torrance. What a good husband.

I’ve got everything I need… let’s roll!

As we drive, I’ll tell you a bit more about The Fantabulous Pioneer Woman.

For those of you who are just now hearing about Ree, she is no ordinary blogger.

You see this special “Country” issue of People magazine…

Here is Ree. She has a four page spread.

She is the blogger many of us other bloggers aspire to be… someday… when all of our blogging dreams come true.

And her new Cookbook… oh my…

It’s full of delicious recipes, with step by step photos on every page.

She is married to a Rancher whom she lovingly refers to as the Marlboro Man. Her cookbook is filled with down-home comfort food, and fantastic country cookin’ that she learned to make while feeding a slew of hungry cowboys.

Look at this recipe for Red Velvet Cake! I can’t wait to try it on some cupcakes this Christmas. This one is going to get me off those darn box mixes and into the adventure of making cake from scratch. If anyone can get me to do it, it’s Ree.

By the way… everyone (and I do mean EVERYONE) should check out all of Ree’s SENSATIONAL looking, Thanksgiving recipes, here.

Hey Ree, there’s an idea for your next cookbook… a Holiday Cookbook:

Thanksgiving Feast, Christmas Dinner, Easter Brunch, 4th of July BBQ, New Years Eve Tapas Dinner Party, Cinco de Mayo Fiesta… you get the picture. I need that book!

Hey! Is this our exit? It should be…. but the GPS says keep going.

Here we are… Borders Bookstore in Torrance, CA.  It’s 5:17 PM… only a little late.

There’s the sign. She’s here…

I’m getting nervous.

Look at all of those Cookbooks. Boy! If you need a good idea for a Christmas gift… this is a GREAT ONE!

Whenever you buy a cookbook, what is the one thing you just can’t get enough of? Pictures of course! Who wants a cookbook with hardly any pictures?! Well,… In the Pioneer Woman Cooks, you don’t just get a picture for absolutely EVERY RECIPE, you get several step-by-step pictures for EVERY RECIPE.

It’s very possible that there has NEVER been a cookbook on the market before with as many FANTASTIC photos as Ree has put into this one. It’s especially great for those of us less confident cooks. As we follow the recipe we can compare what we’re making to her pictures and see if we’re on the right track.

Ok, so let’s go find her.

Hubby, you find the end of the line and hold my place. I’m going to go find Ree.

Eeek! There she is.

Ok, I better get in line. Hmm? It must be back there somewhere.

Husbands are wonderful creatures aren’t they?

The things they do for us silly girls. He just looks so thrilled doesn’t he?! My camera bag slung over his shoulder and my Pioneer Woman Cookbook in hand, in a bookstore, standing in a line of cooking, blogging women.

He’s the best!

And now all we can do is wait. And chat. And gush over PW.

I found out that I had missed her talk. She spoke to the crowd before she started signing books.

I was told by the new friends I made while standing in line that she gave her Ethel Merman impression. Apparently she also made the announcement that she will be publishing her love story about she and Marlboro Man’s romance titled, “From Black Heels to Tractor Wheels.” You can read all about it on her blog here.

And if you want to see her famous Ethel Merman impression, click here.

This is Jennifer. She works at Borders and she came by to ask if any of us needed to step out of line for a bathroom break, or to grab a drink. She offered to hold our place for us. What a dear.

Silly Jennifer… that’s what husbands are for.

Once we reached this point in the line it was almost 8 o’clock.  You see over there in the top left corner where I drew all the arrows? That’s where PW is sitting signing books. We’ve still got a ways to go.

At about this stage in line, I met the dearest woman who had driven all the way up from San Diego just to meet Ree. We were so busy talking about the Pioneer Woman and how we Home School our kids, that we forgot to exchange names. For that… I am ashamed!

Dear San Diego friend, if you happen to stumble upon this post, I so enjoyed talking to you, and I’m going to look up those Home School books you told me about.

Once we got very close, some crazy fans started getting everyone in line to do the “Wave”.

It was fun.

This is Sabrina and her husband. What a beautifully photogenic couple. Sabrina writes a blog at Sliceoflemon.com

Ooooh! Oooh! Oooooh! I’m next.

That’s Donna sitting next to Ree getting her books signed. I met her while standing in line too. We talked all about Ree and how her blog has changed our lives. We also talked about Donna’s niece Rachel, or maybe it’s Rachael, who is currently in France studying art history.

Hi Rachel/Rachael… great name!

Ok… time to focus.

Pass the camera to my hubby. Dry my sweaty palms. Wipe my shiny brow. Think Rachael think! What are you going to say?

“Hey Ree, D’ you know that the human head weighs 8 pounds? D’ you know that bees and dogs can smell fear? D’ you know that my next door neighbor has three rabbits?”

Yep… I charmed her.

And then we became best bosom friends for life and smiled for a picture.

I’m sure she’s inviting me to Lodge very soon.

So, my night was made complete. My goals had been achieved.

At about 9:15 PM Einstein (that’s my hubby) and I rolled out of Borders and headed to a late dinner.

When I got home at 11:30 PM I cracked open that Cookbook and took a look at what she had written.

See the big hearts she drew… I’m sure she only did that for me.

Told ya we’re bosom friends.

I’ll never put it down.

PW… you’re the best! Thanks for coming to So Cal.

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