Releasing ‘Sage Living‘ certainly has been a wild ride! It’s been a little over a month since the book’s release, and I’ve experienced exactly the roller coaster of emotions that you’d expect: pride that I’ve achieved such a huge career milestone, anxiety that the sales won’t meet expectations, joy that the book’s message of intentional living seems to be reading loud and clear. A high point in the ups and downs occurred two weeks ago when I invited twelve friends to join me in Los Angeles for an intimate brunch to celebrate the book’s launch. Ellen of Hedley & Bennett generously opened up her new company headquarters to host the affair, and the event was unforgettable from start to finish!
The visuals, of course, were spot-on. My longtime dear friend Jessica of Taylor + Taylor designed the event, establishing a simple yet feminine sensibility that perfectly reflected the playfully stylish tone I wanted to set for the day. Jess put together a passel of softly pretty floral arrangements in a palette of white, green, and blush to complement the clean table settings and mix-and-match vintage chairs. Those birch wood chargers were everything!
As for the menu, Beth at Whoa Nelly Catering truly outdid herself! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I love sharing it with people, so we served everything from mini French toast casseroles to chilaquile quiches—or ‘chilaquiches’, as Beth calls them. Fruit, bagels and lox, and freshly baked pastries rounded out the food offerings, and a mimosa bar lubricated the conversation quite nicely!
Of course it’s not a party without goodie bags, so we made sure to send guests home with a seriously hefty sack of gifts that included body oil by True Nature Botanicals, some Miette chocolate, linen napkins from World Market, and notepads from my publisher Chronicle Books. But the most precious item was a print commissioned for the occasion from Patricia Shen of Our Heiday. Inspired by the message of ‘Sage Living’ as well as Patricia’s personal philanthropic commitment, the prints featured a stunning calligraphy treatment of the words ‘Home is hope. Home is here.’ The print is now available online with proceeds going towards combatting homelessness in the downtown LA area.
In truth, however, all of these things were icing on top of the cake that was the friends who gathered to help me toast my accomplishment. To be surrounded by women whose work and character I admire so greatly, to see them take time from their busy schedules to celebrate me, and to hear the incredibly kind things they had to say about the book….well it was humbling and gratifying indeed. We humans—and we women especially—don’t often recognize ourselves for our efforts. Sometimes it takes a buttload of acknowledgement from other awesome people to realize that hey, maybe we’re pretty awesome too. When next I’m feeling down, I’ll remember this day and let the gratitude and love that filled my heart lift me right back up again!
Photos: Mary Costa Photography. A special huge thanks to my publicity team at Ruby Press for coordinating the event. I wouldn’t want to be on this book journey without them!