Greetings all, I wanted to share with you a project I was proud to be a part of.  Months ago after the earthquake disaster and devastation in Japan, the gals over at How Does She? had a brilliant idea to put together a cookbook with recipes from fifty plus favorite bloggers. The plan?  Gather fifty plus recipes, put together a cookbook with color images, sell copies, and donate the proceeds to the American Red Cross.  Very cool.

I’m proud to share that the "Recipes to Help: 50 Favorite Bloggers, 50 Best Recipes" cookbook is here!  From now until the end of August, the cookbook is available for purchase in either hardback or eBook version, but it’s not a “purchase” per se, we like to think of it as a donation!  Yes, 100% of your purchase/donation will go to the American Red Cross to help the many people who have been affected by natural disasters around the world.

This one-of-a-kind cookbook is available in both hardback version and as an eBook, your choice!  Paper Coterie generously donated 100% of the supplies and 100% of the cost to offer the printed version to all of you. 

With your donation, you will have a beautiful full color recipe book with gorgeous pictures and delicious recipes to try, and also feel good knowing you donated for a worthy cause. 

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Two months ago, I met up with my blog friend Cristin in San Francisco to catch up and do a little shopping on Fillmore Street.  It’s so nice to meet up with a pal who speaks “blog” and loves great design, and we had so much fun together!

That day we happened to visit the Jonathan Adler store, where I spied the Mykonos placemat and instantly fell in love with the gray and mustard yellow Greek key fabric.  We discussed its awesomeness over lunch and coffee. 

I could only justify buying one, so I bought it with the intention of making an accent pillow.  After some thought, I decided it would be better put to use to line my gray West Elm lacquer trays I bought a year ago.

The other day, I finally got around to combining the two, and I couldn’t be more pleased with how this simple DIY project turned out!  Adding pattern to the bottom of a tray, whether with fabric or paint, is the simplest way to transform a solid color tray into a statement accessory.  

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Hey y’all!  Happy Monday!  Summer has finally come to an end since the kids are back to school this week.  Knowing that, I made an effort to take some down time last week.  If you follow me on Twitter, you know the highlight for me was a Saturday date night where I was at the Michael Bublé concert in San Jose, having cocktails with my sweetie while my inlaws watched the kids.  Hello, it doesn’t get much better than that! 

My hub scored us some amaaaaaazing seats up front, and I was so excited to be just a few feet away from one of my favorite singers.  I do things I wouldn’t ordinarily do when in the presence of Michael Bublé, he makes me all teenybopper crazy.  He was wiping his perspiration all night on a MB Tour towel, then guess who he threw it to?  Don’t believe me?  All the evidence on this video. 

Can you believe it?  His sweaty towel is mine baby miiiiiiiine !!!! 

How much do ya think I could get for it on eBay?

Kidding!  I could never part with it.  Unless you make me an offer I can’t refuse.

Back to biz.  So I’ve had this little console table for like ever that I painted white over the weekend.  

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Greetings all, today’s the day!  The registration for the Haven Conference is officially open, they are on sale right now!  This is going to be the one you don’t want to miss!  It’s the opportunity to learn some hands-on DIY skills, plus mix and mingle with your favorite DIY home bloggers. 

At this time there are only 250 spots, so hurry to get yours!  You can get all the details at the Haven Conference website.  Be sure to “Like” Haven on Facebook and follow Haven Conference on Twitter for all the latest.

Any and all questions about the conference can be directed here:

haventeam@havenconference.com

Can’t wait to see you there!

xo,

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Hello hello and happy weekend!  Here’s a few links that Abi and I rounded up for you for the ‘Best of the Blogosphere’ picks, enjoy!

Paint bold stripes on your plain Jane window panels with Carol from The Design Pages.

Isn’t Ashley from The Handmade Home so clever?  She made this rustic pendant fixture for her kids’ room with a planter from a home improvement store. 

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