But this book is not about cooking, but about the beginnings of her life with Marlboro Man, her husband Ladd. It's nice to know there's another lady out there that has fallen for a young man that has grey hair. Instead of thinking, geez, he's old, it's "wow--what a hot guy!" Yep. Been there. Can't imagine my sweetie any other way. Bud is my Silver Fox :)
But I digress. Ree spots her cowboy across a bar in the small Oklahoma town she's come back to after breaking up with her California boyfriend. She's decided she's going to move to Chicago and go to law school. But first, she's got to get it together, so she stays at her parent's house and trying really really hard to "gently, slowly" break her boyfriend's heart from a distance. Not moving to San Francisco with him, telling him she's moving to Chicago, and actually leaving him just doesn't give him enough clues to leave her alone.
Meanwhile, after an intense bar conversation with MM, she's fallen head over heels in a very hard way. I completely understand the appeal of biceps, Ree. All those little things about a man that keep him in your mind all day. But MM doesn't call her for 4 months! She's inches away from leaving for Chicago when they have their first date. It's pretty much the stuff of romance novels, and Ree finds herself hopelessly caught between trying to be an independent woman, and falling madly in love with a cowboy who's going nowhere but home to his ranch.
Ree's love story may sound corny to some people, but I have to say, it was so refreshing to read a true life romance that described that peace and sense of place you find with the right person. That the spark doesn't fade after a year or two, that two people can get married without living together first, and make a home for two (and soon three) while coping with a first year of marriage that reminded me of The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Lots of stuff hits this couple just after their wedding, and it would shake anyone's relationship. But these two hold on, and that's what I like about this story. Never underestimate the power of a strong, grounded man who's not afraid to say what he thinks, is quietly confident, and is always there no matter what. And looks good in Wranglers.
Ree and MM are still happily married, with four children, and live on a ranch. She's funny, entertaining, and down to earth. I now know what a keeper she has and why he calls her "Momma" on her show. There are a few recipes at the end of the book, but mainly it's a biography of their meeting, courtship, and first year of marriage.
Rating: 3/5 A fun way to pass a winter's day.
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