Happy/Sad

This is the story of two sisters attending a book signing. It's no secret I'm a huge fan of the blog Young House Love. My sister Michanne is also a fan. John and Sherry Petersik are the DIY couple behind the blog and they published a DIY book last year. I pre-ordered my copy (duh) and impatiently awaited it's arrival. When it did finally arrive I was excited but I'll admit the content was not exactly what I expected but I loved flipping through every page. I'm unbelievably proud and impressed by their book writing and publishing journey. Their journey also included a book signing tour! Sadly, Atlanta (nor anywhere near Atlanta) was included in their tour. It seems they changed their minds because Michanne texted me about new tour dates late last year and Atlanta was going to be the last one. Huzzah! Micahnne registerd us immediately and we made plans for the February visit. Fast forward to Thursday, February 7th, 6pm and Michanne and I are waiting in line to meet the Petersiks! We stood in line for over 2 hours. in the cold. windy. rainy. weather. outside. Catching a glimpse of the couple just before 6:30pm and seeing them through the storefront window around 8pm lifted our spirits. Not to mention the freebie snacks the book signing hosts passed around outside the storefront. I had a mini cheesecake brownie and it was delicious. Michanne and I were not dressed properly for a two-hour session outdoors. Their previous book signings appeared to take place in large stores and sometimes they even gave speeches before the signing started. Not in Atlanta--apparently the only place in America that does not have a suitable book signing facility. The inside of the store, Flor, was teeny-tiny. Only about 50 or 60 people could fit in there and still form a line. Except the line for John and Sherry inside was about 10 people deep. Michanne forgot her book (oops!) so bought a new one in the store. A second line formed after their signing table and I'll explain that later. Here's a picture of my ecstatic self once we got inside. John and Sherry are right behind me!!!

All pictures were taken with my iPhone so don't expect anything spectacular. After this spastic moment we signed their guestbook and then waited for the stupid girls in front of us to ooh and aah over John and Sherry and proffer their idiotic packets about their home. Yadda, yadda, yadda. That song, "Move bit$h, get out the way!" by Luda kept running through my head.

Seconds later our magical moment arrived. I remember saying something stupid about a letter I wrote to them last year about my wedding, blah, blah, blah. They didn't remember even though Sherry sent a very nice reply back to me. They've met thousands of fans on this book tour so that's hardly surprising (but it still hurt). Michanne was so cool, as usual, especially compared to my overly enthusiastic self. I told them we were sisters, they looked at us, paused for a second, and then I said, "well, step sisters," and then Michanne says, "no, we're twins." They laughed and signed our books and we took a group picture.

Then came my you-will-remember-me-moment. I produced this gem for them to sign!

Anyone who reads their blog knows how much Sherry adores white, ceramic animals--well, white, ceramic anything. They also have a white rhino which they love and is part of their blog banner. Sherry looked so happy and they asked where I got it (Z Gallerie) and we talked about how it looked different from their rhino. Michanne took pictures while they signed my rhino's belly. I turned to look at all the people in line and they were smiling but I could tell they coveted my rhino something fierce! Michanne said everyone was staring hard and looked so jealous. That's how you make an impact people--make em' jealous with ceramics. That was it, that was my not-quite-five-minutes with John and Sherry Petersik. The second line I mentioned earlier led to none other than Katie Bower. She is another blogger and is BFFs with Sherry. She and her family also happen to live in Atlanta. I wanted to meet her but the line was long and I needed a proper meal so I snapped her picture with my phone. She didn't look very pleased and Michanne laughed her butt off.

This whole encounter was such a blur. Michanne said when we were taking the group picture all she remembered was staring at the back of John's head and thinking he had a nice thick head-of-hair. We gathered our things and headed to the parking garage elevator to get back in Michanne's car (and turn on the heater!). I held my rhino and book in a large recycle bag over my shoulder. As I exited the elevator I heard rather than felt a distinct CLINK noise. Michanne and I both gasped and she said be careful (after the fact I might add). We opened the bag and sure enough the large horn was broken, but it was mostly a clean break. I won't lie, I wanted to cry right then and there in the parking garage. In a matter of seconds I went from super excited to feeling so sorry for myself. Michanne said not to worry and that it could be repaired easily since it was such a clean break. I tried to forget about it for the rest of the trip but it was the first thing I showed Jeff when I got home.

Jeff has since fixed my little rhino and was very sweet about the whole thing. If you look very closely you can see the crack but you wouldn't notice just passing by. The thing is, the second I took it off my dresser to get ready for the trip I just knew something was going to happen to it. This trip included the worst experiences I've ever had dealing with elevators. All that aside, it was a great trip and it was nice visiting with Michanne and meeting a couple I admire.