Happy Birthday to My Book, A Home to Share

It’s hard to believe that two years ago today, I hosted a party to celebrate the Launch of my book, A Home to Share.

A Home to Share: Designs that Welcome Family and Friends is about interior design and entertaining. It’s about creating a home that is both beautiful and welcoming. I have always believed that a home should be a place where people can gather and connect, and A Home to Share provides tips and inspiration for creating comfortable and stylish spaces.

A Home to Share

My book A Home to Share is all about the spirit of welcome. It is a guide to giving new life to underused spaces and bringing cozy, truly livable decor to every room of the house—including outdoor rooms to extend home space in temperate weather.

And since you know how much I love to entertain, of course, I was able to weave in plenty of signature entertaining ideas for hosting relaxed gatherings, large and small.

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Reading A Home to Share

The book is divided into three parts.

Part 1: Designing

This section discusses the importance of creating a welcoming and inviting home. I cover topics such as choosing the right furniture and accessories, creating a comfortable layout, and using color and light to create a warm and inviting atmosphere.

Here, I shared specific tips and inspiration for designing each room in your home, including the living room and kitchen, family room, dining room, and Carriage House.

Part 2: Celebrating

In our home, outdoor living and gatherings seamlessly extend our interior rooms. I shared how to configure your outdoor areas and create comfortable and memorable gatherings. The gatherings in these areas, including the beach at our Ventura home, are unforgettable.

Part 3: Entertaining 

In this section, I shared my tips for hosting gatherings in your home. Topics include setting the table, preparing food, and creating a festive atmosphere. The section also includes eleven DIY projects.

Throughout the book, I emphasized the importance of personal style and creating a home that reflects your unique personality. Of course, I encourage all of you to be creative and to have fun with the design process.

A Home to Share is a valuable resource for creating a comfortable, beautiful, and welcoming home. My goal is to help you create a space you and your loved ones will cherish all year.

The Book Launch Party

Wow! How could it be two years already?

I remember feeling nervous, exhausted, and fearful that no one would show up to the book launch party at my home.

Why was I so tired? We made all of the decorations and cooked all of the food, and to be honest, my bestie Maryliz and I were running to get everything ready in time for the party to start!

The party was way beyond my expectations and simply amazing!

I knew I wanted to host this party even before I finished writing the book. The perfect reason to throw a backyard party was to open up our home and share it with those who enjoy My 100 Year Old Home.

As I said earlier … WOW! In my wildest dreams, I never imagined the Book Launch Party would turn out as great as it did.

And what made it so special?

The fantastic people who came to the party!

Over 250 people attended the party. Many flew in from out of state, drove seven hours from Northern California, or came from all over Southern California. And I think I met almost every one of you who made a considerable effort to come to my home!

I was so touched by all the stories everyone shared about ideas they had done in their homes using ideas I shared on my blog. Many shared pictures of my DIYs they had made. They also mentioned which recipes were their favorites. They also showed photos of the home decor items they had bought using ideas I had shared on my blog.

It touched my heart that so many had been inspired by my blog and now wanted to read my book! I loved meeting many incredibly wonderful people and cherished learning that we had so much in common.

Although the backyard party was held outdoors, we did open the house to welcome everyone inside. I cannot believe how many people looked around, and I loved listening to their comments!

Decorating for the Party

The party decor was understated, and we did feature a few items from the book. Above, you can see the wooden boxes and hanging wood arch featured in A Home to Share. The hanging floral vintage chandelier is one of my favorite items in the book.

We went to the flower mart early on Monday morning,, arranged the flowers, made the flower crowns, and stored them in our wine cellar!

Below are more photos of the hanging chandeliers and pictures of the flowers arranged for all of the tables.

So it’s been two years since my book came out, and it’s been an incredible experience.

I traveled and met some amazing people at book signing events, and it was a fantastic experience. Many of you, from all over the world, have sent me photos of my book in stores everywhere! And so many different countries.

My little sister found A Home to Share on the Anthropologie website, and I heard from many of you that my book was in TJ Maxx. So I went out to a few stores and found it!

Thanks to all of you for supporting A Home to Share. It’s been so incredible!

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