take ten // the happy home book tour, thawing snow, palm beach sunshine

It’s been a minute since I’ve checked in (in long-form, at least–I’ve been loving the notes feature on the Substack app and use it almost daily at this point. It’s like aesthetic pre-X Twitter?) February came in with a bang and on the 17th, my book, The Happy Home: Layered Interiors for Joyful Living was released with Rizzoli. I am so proud of the book and it’s been very surreal seeing her out in the world, doing her thing! I love nothing more than when people tag us showing us how they’re reading it or using it for design inspiration or styling their coffee tables or shelves with it, so thank you, truly!

I talked a little bit about the book in depth with my favorite pal Shira Barlow, MS, RD on her gorgeous Substack, EVEN BETTER. You can read the article here. I think one of my favorite things about Substack is getting to know the “real” behind what you see on more polished forms of socials–and Shira’s newsletter is as real as it gets. (Highly recommend!)

I’ve jam packed so much into here, it may be too long to read on email, head’s up–so you may want to open this in the Substack app or browser. So without further ado, I’m bringing back our OG “take ten” series with my ten favorite things/moments from Jan + Feb, plus some book tour BTS for good measure. Shall we?

1. Strangers by Belle Burden. I cannot remember the last time I felt as gripped by a book as I was by Strangers, which I finished in three days, reading past midnight with the lights dimmed–unintentional sleep procrastination because I could not put it down. What an achingly gorgeous memoir. I finished it feeling so proud of her and imagined how much her children must feel the same way. Beautiful all around; everyone should read this one. I read in Air Mail that Gwyneth is potentially going to play Belle in the movie and I can’t think of any casting more perfect.

2. A yellow crew neck t-shirt under a navy v-neck with white jeans. A very specific combo (reference photo below) that stopped me in my tracks mid-scroll–if anyone knows where this photo came from, please tell me! I can’t wait to replicate come the first warm spring days. (I fear that I will need my Blundstones for many more weeks, however…)

   

   3. Hydrating and calming skincare. Winter pushed my skin to its parched limits, and I’ve added in this hero stack as of late which has kept me dewy while the temps have been not as forgiving:

   4. A bedding refresh. I’m a huge fan of The Company Store, and their organic cotton basics in white are a personal favorite. Everything on their site is on sale right now–perfect for a spring overhaul. What’s better than crisp percale and an open window on a sunny day?

   

   5. A quick trip to Palm Beach to celebrate The Happy Home was good for the soul–I went down to Florida with my husband and our daughters to celebrate my first book signing outside of New York, and it was so much fun. My mom and my 92 year old grandmother came to the signing, which was incredibly special. A huge thank you to Serena & Lily for hosting the most gorgeous, warm and happy signing! I was terrified my girls would find a sharpie and deface some furniture but we got through it in one piece and S&L even had coloring books at the ready for them <3 I got to meet so many great new people (and old friends came to visit too!) and it was just such a special time. We stayed at the incredibly stunning Four Seasons Palm Beach which is my absolute favorite hotel down there. The beach, food, rooms, and service are unparalleled. Beach Mom ™ was activated.

   

   

   

   6. We kicked off celebrating The Happy Home the city on March 3rd, when Oscar de la Renta hosted us in their gorgeous flagship location on Madison to fête the book with sips, light bites and lots of merriment. It was so special (I felt like an absolute princess in this dress, which they custom tailored to my incompatible with sample sizing 4’10 stature!) I was pinching myself the entire time. The endpapers of my book (book-speak for the first two and last two pages of a book–the more you know!) are a beautiful blue and white Oscar de la Renta print–my favorite print–so it all came full circle. I will forever be grateful to the ODLR team for such a special evening–I truly felt like Cinderella! There is no better team on earth than theirs. (And mine, pictured below by the stairs–I love you!)

   

   

   

7. Molly Ford’s flowers–we were lucky enough to have Molly and her brilliance creating the stunning floral arrangements for the book party at Oscar de la Renta, and I have absolutely fallen in love with her magical, wild florals. Especially while waiting for spring’s bounty–no better eye candy than her feed!

   

8. Sarah Creal eyeliner–the best, most longest lasting, incredibly gorgeous eyeliner I have ever used in my life. Full stop. I did my hair + makeup for all three book events so far and it did.not.budge. And it’s clean!! (How do they do it?!) It’s also Jenn Streicher approved (her incredible store Duchess in Bedford carries it too for any locals!)

9. Planning for the Fenimore Lane Design Summit has taken up much of my weeks and we are SO excited to have everyone back this year at The Mayflower Inn & Spa June 6-7. We have almost 50 vendors as of now (and growing every day!) and an insane lineup of panelists and workshop hosts. Get your tickets while you can–VIP packages are almost sold out!

10. The perfect jeans. I’m on a perpetual quest, and I think I’ve found them–these are so comfortable they truly feel like pajamas (!), plus they come in petite for the shorties like me; they hit at just the right spot at the ankle. I got them in white, eagle and black, and considering the cobalt. J.Crew never misses.

And lastly, feeling very grateful for the most incredible group of women who I’m lucky enough to call my friends—they piled into Bedford Books in the snow last night and threw the most beautiful, cozy and heartfelt book party I could have ever dreamed of. I really did not want to throw a party for the book (I try to keep work and my personal life separate) and they convinced me to (and orchestrated the entire thing themselves, replete with a guest book that everyone signed and I will keep forever.) It was a reminder to celebrate the big things with your people, and the power of female friendship. <3

Wishing you some sun on your face today!!! (It’s finally out in NY!)

xxxx

AO