Happy Monday, everyone! I am glad to be back here in this pretty place above. I love New York. I mean love it. I have since I was a little girl and going there a couple of times a year is so much fun. But, today, I think I’m glad to be back home — especially since it’s a balmy 55 degrees here!
As you all know, I got to go to Penguin and meet my editor and a lot of other super cool people and check in with my agent, and it was a totally surreal whole day. I really did used to think all the time about what it would be like to get on an airplane and fly to New York and get to talk about my book. And it happened. And I think that is remarkable.
It was also remarkably cold. How I picked the Arctic chill to go to New York I can’t tell you. But we bundled up and had a ball anyway. Thank goodness we stayed right on the Park so the walk to the Barneys and Bergdorf shoe sales was very minimal. Although, truth be told, I would walk miles in a blizzard for those fabulous shoes, so it wouldn’t really have mattered!
Little Will has been to FAO Schwartz before, but this time I’m pretty sure he’ll actually remember it. And we took him to the Museum of Natural History. Just to see him take everything in like he did was worth the trip. He wanted to “just stay two more weeks,” so I think it’s safe to say that he’s going to be a good NYC traveling companion from now on! He was definitely in his element and even ate a bunch of new foods while we were there, which, if you have a toddler, you know is quite a feat.
Oh. And everyone was so nice. Usually, I’m kind of glad to get back home to Southerners who are a little less brisk in their manner, but we all said, across the board, that everywhere we went, everyone we met was just incredibly friendly and polite. There’s definitely a lot of Southern influence in the NYC menus now, so maybe that Southern influence is rubbing off in other ways too!
I’m sort of sitting back today and letting the memories of a totally wonderful trip set in. Well, that and panicking. Because it has hit me that Dear Carolina is coming out in FOUR MONTHS. Four months! That’s so close that people are planning their book club month and starting to call me. That’s close. (And, btw, if you want me to come talk to your book club, I’d really love it!)
Okay. I’m going to go frantically get things done now, since my novel’s is right around the corner. But at least one major thing is checked off my list now: I have the perfect shoes.
Kristy-
I am so excited for you! Four months.
And what a month you have had. I know that the little one loved his trip too.
Glad to have you back.
Teresa
xoxo