We Are Everywhere.
Because we’ve talked about it ad nauseam, you likely know by now that PJP was included in Elin Hilderbrand’s New York Times bestselling book, Swan Song, earlier this summer. Of all of the fun and unique things that PJP has brought our way, this is one that I never expected. So let’s talk about it.
On the Saturday of Father’s Day weekend, I was elbow deep in heavy whipping cream at West. It was sort of a zoo in there, as it often is on busy holiday weekends. When one of the girls came back to the whip table to tell me that someone wanted to see the owner, I thought “well, that’s awesome”. Most of the time, a request to see me is a fun meeting with someone who wants to share something special about PJP. But occasionally it is for someone marginally disgruntled or someone selling something that we likely don’t need. You never know and because I’m quick to assume the worst in any situation, you better believe I prepared myself for someone who was ready to complain.
Instead, I found a delightful woman and her husband who drove over from St. Louis. She whipped out a book and opened it to a page and said “do you know about this?”. And in that section of the book, the main character flies in her pies for her infamous parties on Nantucket straight from Peggy Jean’s Pies in Columbia, Missouri. NO, I DID NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS.
The woman was at home in St. Louis reading the book that had just been released that week, read the Peggy Jean’s part and Googled it to see if it was real. And when she found us, just real pie baking people a few real hours a way, she decided to drive over. I’m rarely surprised by much these days, but this fun surprise caught me completely by surprise.
So, to the questions:
How do we know Elin Hilderbrand? We didn’t know her prior to meeting her in July at a book signing and I’ll tell you about that in a bit. But she started following our Instagram probably eight years ago and we’ve chatted a bit on direct messages. We’ve also sent her some pies and a PJP shirt a few years ago,
And we had no clue this was happening? NONE.
What did you do after you found out? Elle and I went directly to Barnes and Noble and located the book. She skimmed the left side of the page while I skimmed the right side and there on page 197 was our mention. And then like any normal person, we bought the book, we went home and promptly made a TikTok that featured us doing normal things - Jason mowing, Jeanne raking, Ellery running, Hayden cooking, etc - while reading the book. We sent it to Elin and she invited us to her book signing at Left Bank Books in St. Louis.
Tell us about that. Well, for starters, Elin has a color theme at each of her signings. Thank goodness Elle knew this because it is apparently a stringent rule. The St. Louis event was Kelly Green. And if you’ve ever wondered if Columbia needs more places to shop, PLEASE KNOW THAT FINDING TWO DIFFERENT KELLY GREEN DRESSES IN COLUMBIA THAT WE BOTH LIKE IS REALLY HARD. Other shoppers at Dillard’s eyed us like potential cult members as we headed to the dressing rooms.
Two Dresses Only? Jeanne didn’t go? No. High on the list of things Jeanne won’t do is put on Kelly Green and drive two hours to meet an author, New York Times bestselling status be damned.
So, how was it? It was super fun. Elin gave Ellery and I VIP access, so while there were 300 or so people lined up on the sidewalk, we walked in to the front of the line. I can only imagine what the people in line thought because we are neither famous nor recognizable outside of the pie world. We walked in, met Elin, and were back out on the street in less than 10 minutes. She couldn’t have been nicer or more fun to meet. There is literally nothing worse than meeting someone you really like and they aren’t the same as the image they project, but rest assured Elin was just as genuine and kind as you see on her social media and press tours.
Did you take pie? Absolutely. And so did 10 or so other PJP fans. We spotted a few in line holding their PJP bags and we felt so honored.
What else? Well, we’ve shipped pies all over the country for people with fun notes referencing Elin and her books. I sent one today that a person sent to her mom and said that Elin was her favorite author so she wanted her mom to try something referenced in the book. A lot of people from all over the country just call or email us and ask if we know that we are in the book.
Would you visit Elin in Nantucket? Is that even a question? Some of her books are made into movies and I hope to be cast in the part of myself because if Jeanne isn’t going to St. Louis in Kelly Green, she isn’t going to Los Angeles in any color.
Favorite part of the story? Absolutely stopping in every bookstore we visited this summer to admire ourselves. From the airport in New York to our favorite bookstore on 30A in Florida, we checked everywhere for ourselves.
I never end on 11 because I like even numbers, but I couldn’t pass this opportunity to say that If I ever write a book and there is a signing, I’m 100% wearing black. You can wear whatever color you can easily find in this limited shopping town. You are welcome.
