Part two of my book tour supporting The Secret Lives of Baked Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts is now complete! Philadelphia and Chicago...you were great!
Now, if you're curious about what happened on the first leg, check out this post; for still-upcoming dates, look at the left side bar of this site!
Now, let me tell you about what I saw, what I did, and very importantly, what I ate on leg 2 of the tour, in New Jersey, Philadelphia and Chicago.
First, I headed down to New Jersey. I didn't have an event here but I was staying with my parents, and using their kitchen to bake treats for the Anthropologie book signing in Philadelphia. I made three batches of Katharine Hepburn Brownies from the book. I had a little assembly line going!
Oh, yum. Then, we packed up the car and went to Philadelphia. I was greeted by this sign...I felt pretty cool...
Here I am getting out of the car and getting ready to share brownies and fun!
Wow, what an amazing event! Not only was it excellently attended, but there were brownies and prosecco. Lots of prosecco.
The crowd was enthusiastic and we had a lot of fun!
Here I am with my big sister Kelly.
I also got some unexpected treats at the signing. Bredenbeck's sent over some cookies just for me...
and (big hero moment!) Zoe (there's an umlaut in her name, but I can't find the symbol on my computer) from Whipped Bakeshop came, too! For an example of how awesome she is, just look at one of her cakes: 
and Ginny of LivyLu's Gourmet brought some treats, too!
This was a signing that just made me feel great to be alive. Thank you, Anthropologie!
Let's just say I slept well that night, and it was a good thing, because I had to get up pretty bright and early to head to Chicago!
On my way to the airport, I had a surprisingly tasty (considering its healthy status!) cookie called the "Shazaam", purchased in Spring Lake Heights.
Next stop...Chicago! My reading was actually in Vernon Hills, but I had some time to spend in the Windy City beforehand. I made good use of it.
I popped in an Anthropologie store in Chicago...and guess what they had? My book! yay!
My first stop for sweets in Chicago was Glazed and Infused. You can read more about my visit there if you read this post, but suffice it to say I left fat and happy and SO excited to have finally met my (until now, online-only) friend James.
Next, I headed over to Swirlz Cupcakes. Wow, Pam of Swirlz is so supportive! She had a little altar to me out to make me smile and share my work with her customers! AND she was kind enough to donate cupcakes for my event later that day.
Here's a picture of me with owner Pam!
Before I headed to Vernon Hills, I simply had to drop by to say hi to my friend Stephanie, owner of Angel Food Bakery. She has the same birthday as me, and she bakes cupcakes. What's not to love? We chatted and I picked up a few treats, including a brownie and a flourless chocolate cake. For later.
Then I headed to the Aspen Drive Library! I was greeted by this beautiful sign:
And then got to unpacking the sweets from Swirlz!
HERE'S WHAT WAS IN THE BAG. OMG ALL CAPS NEEDED.
Putting together this stand was easier said than done, but we figured it out (yes, it took more people than just me).
I had a great talk with a large audience at the library, and Lake Forest Book Store was on hand to sell copies of my book. Here I am doing my reading--don't I look like a kindergarten teacher?
An especially meaningful guest was my friend Sandy, who drove all the way from Milkwaukee. I miss this girl! We were able to have dinner and catch up. <3
Now, I know you're concerned that I'm getting enough calories, so I am happy to tell you that I was able to make one more sweet stop before I left the next morning, to pick up a cinnamon glazed old-fashioned doughnut at Do-Rite Donuts. Whew!
By the way, it wasn't til that night that I got to one of my other goodies from Angel Food Bakery, the brownie. Hold on to your hats, sweeties. It might look like just a brownie, but it is nothing ordinary once it's in your mouth. It's fudge-filled chocolate overload decadence awesometown, the experience of eating this brownie. I think they're some of the best in the nation!
Whew! So glad to have had these awesome tour times, but I'm happy to be home, too! See you next time, sweeties!
Places Mentioned:
Anthropologie, multiple locations; online here.
Bredenbeck's, 8126 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia; online here.
LivyLu's Gourmet; online here.
Whipped Bakeshop, 636 Belgrade Street, Philadelphia; online here.
Nature's Corner Natural Market, 2407 Hwy 71, Spring Lake Heights NJ; online here.
Glazed and Infused, multiple locations in Chicago; online here.
Swirlz Cupcakes, 705 W. Belden, Chicago; online here.
Angel Food Bakery, 1636 Montrose, Chicago; online here.
Aspen Drive Library, Vernon Hills, IL; online here.
Lake Forest Bookstore; online here.
Do-Rite Donuts, 50 W. Randolph Street, Chicago; online here.