Favorite Photo Friday - "We Met Giada"

Last night my Mom and I stood in line with about a thousand other people at our local Wegmans to meet Giada De Laurentiis and have her sign a copy of her new cookbook that was just released this week. I knew there would be a lot of people, but never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be as crazy as it was. Giada was scheduled to be there from 5-7pm, but based on the number of people that had tickets, I would guess she was there until 11pm still signing away. Luckily, I have a fabulous Mom who went to the store at 2pm and got a voucher so that we could be in the first group of people to meet her after the VIPs. The staff had a huge job trying to keep things secure and orderly and there were lots of rules that needed to be followed. Unfortunately with the amount of people that were there, Giada was not posing for photos, but you could take pictures of her as she signed from certain areas. One of which being the line as you approached her. This was my first view of her through the guys that were standing in front of us.


And just in case you were wondering, she is even more beautiful in person than she is on TV.... if that is possible. She radiates beauty, from her flawless skin to her vibrant and cute personality! She took the time to speak to all of her fans and I could see that she was especially drawn to all the kids that came to see her.


When my Mom got up there to have her books signed(as in plural, make sure you keep reading to the very end of the post), she told Giada how much she enjoys not only her fabulous recipes, but how she lets us into her life by sharing all of her family stories and even includes her family members in so many of her episodes.

My Mom's favorite is Aunt Raffy and she told Giada that when she cooks with Aunt Raffy, it reminds her of our family. Giada giggled and said that every family has an "Aunt Raffy". For those that don't know Aunt Raffy, she is a scream and has a fun way of challenging Giada while she is in the kitchen. Telling her "that is not the way I do it Giada". It is really funny to see them sort of bicker in the kitchen...... just like our family can do from time to time!

Even though we could have spent hours talking with her, we only had a minute before we were whisked away so they could keep the line moving. There were tons of people waiting to make their way up the steps to meet her. This was the view of the store as we made our way down the steps. Unfortunately, these people had a very long night of standing and waiting....... but I am sure it was worth every minute.


My Mom and I happily "skipped" out of the store after meeting her and then went out to grab a cocktail and bite to eat. It was such a fun thing for us to do together, and even though I did not get any photos of myself with Giada, at least I got a few of my Mom for the old memory book!!!

So, if you are a big time Giada fan, you have to pick up her new book called "Weeknights with Giada". Being that my time is so limited during the week and I don't have a whole lot of time to spend in the kitchen, I am really anxious to dig into these recipes and give them a try.

"I definitely don't have the time anymore to cook for hours every day- not if I want to spend time at the table with Todd and jade. But I still love food and cooking and want to eat a nice dinner! So I've really shaken up my weeknight repertoire to include only dishes that I can pull together after a full day. This is what weeknights look like in my house. I hope these recipes inspire you and your family to gather around the table(or picnic blanket) for some fantastic dinners - and. most important, a whole lof of fun." ~Giada De Laurentiis~

We are going to make this post a little more exciting!
Are you ready?

Again, thanks to my ever so thoughtful and supportive Mom, she thought it would be fun to include you all in our big night with Giada and she grabbed an extra book that has been autographed for one of you to win!!! Next week is my 4 year "blogiversary" and I always do a giveaway in conjunction with it, so this year will be no different, it is just coming a week early!

If you want a chance to win a signed copy of her newest cookbook, "Weeknights With Giada", just leave me a comment and tell me why you could use the cookbook or what keeps you coming back to "The Long Road to China". After four years of blogging, I wonder at times how much longer I can keep it up and continue to share our happenings and things that are interesting enough to keep you all tuned in. As long as you all are here still reading, I will keep writing and sharing our life with you!

You have until 11pm Eastern Time on Monday, April 2nd to enter to win the book.
The lucky winner will be announced next week.

TGIF my friends!!! Enjoy your weekend.
{I had intended to post the rest of my bluebell photos today, but decided to postpone them until next week, so check back Sunday or Monday}