Monday, February 24, 2014

Girl Crush: Ree Drummond The Pionner Woman


You've probably heard women say before that they have a 'girl crush' on some other woman (in a totally non-sexual way -- more of admiration), well my girl crush is on Ree Drummond AKA The Pioneer Woman.  If you haven't heard of her, don't feel bad, 4 months ago I didn't really know who she was either (Sorry, Ree!).  

One day in November, my mom told me this lady Ree Drummond was coming to a local Wal-Mart to sign autographs to promote her new cookbook.  My first thought was: perfect birthday gift for my sister!  She loves cookbooks; I'll go real quick and get her an autographed copy.  

Fast forward to the day of the event.  My mom and I get there at 10:30 AM (Ree was supposed to start at 11) to get in line.  We grab a couple books on the way to find the line, and then about stopped dead in our tracks.  The line wound up and down isles and then up and down and around more isles in the middle of the store.  With nothing better to do, we got in line thinking, "Oh, it won't take long at all."  We were wrong. 
The lady in line in front of us actually worked for that Wal-Mart and explained that Ree had gotten there early and started signing autographs around 9:30, and said she would stay until everyone got through the line.  

Fast forward 5 ½ hours.  F-I-V-E AND AN H-A-L-F H-O-U-R-S! That’s when we got to meet Ree.  Now, call us crazy, but once you are standing in line for an hour, and you don’t know how much longer it’s going to take, you are kind of committed.  It ended up going fairly quickly; we were in Wal-Mart after all, plenty of people watching to do!  It was also nice to spend time with my mom.

I must say, once we finally got up to meet this infamous Ree Drummond, I was intrigued by her.  We had learned some about her from reading the cookbooks we were holding (now, a copy for me because, well, if I stand in line for 5 ½ hours I want some proof of what I did) and from the fans around us.  The lady in front of us had all the cookbooks, and they were bookmarked with her favorite recipes.  We learned a lot from her about Ree.  

Turns out this Ree is a real sweet lady; I can tell that from the minute I spent with her.  As I walked up with my cookbook ready, I thanked her for taking the time to stay for so long.  She responded so kindly with, “Hey, we’re in this together.”  She was so genuine.  I smiled for a picture, and then took a picture for my mom, who gladly told Ree she had fun today because she got to spend time with her daughter.  Awe! : )

Then a picture with Marlboro Man (Ree’s cowboy husband), and then the day was sadly over.  All that build up for a little moment, but it was a changing moment in my life.
 Ree and me, Marlboro Man and me, and my autographed cookbook!

When I got home, I did some more research on Ree, visited her website, and fell in love. 

She’s from a small town in Oklahoma, which makes me feel close to her since we’re only a few hours apart.  That also means she is a southern girl, which in turn means she cooks southern food, which means it is my kind of food, which also means it is not in any way, shape, or form healthy.  She’s hilarious! Not only does she have a blog, and cookbooks, but she also has a show on the Food Network.  I’ve never been one for the Food Network, but now, I record all her shows.  I also refer to her as Ree like we’re real friends.  

Check out her blog over at thepioneerwoman.com, or on the Food Network.
She has been a great find for me and my husband- I’ll explain more in my next post.  Right now, I need to go find out which recipe I’m going to make next. : )