Guys - BIG news. My friend Stephanie published a new book! It's called "Kissing Frogs" and it's fantastic. You can buy it in paperback or for your Kindle on Amazon.
It's the story of a twenty-something girl named Elliott Roux who lives in Boston and is dealing with dating disasters, friend fiascos and family drama. Elliott is the like the new Carrie Bradshaw. She and her friend group so remind me of Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte. If you miss the "Sex and the City" girls, "Kissing Frogs" is your solution!
How beautiful is the cover design? Stephanie collaborated on the cover art with my friend and co-worker Tom. You can check out more of his work here.
I can't tell you how cool it is to see your friend's name on the spine of a book.
In celebration of the book's release, Stephanie wanted to host a brunch with a menu of recipes that are featured in the book. Brunch plays a huge role in the story, both with Elliott's friends and her family, so it seemed only right to toast to the book with that meal!
I was honored when Stephanie asked if she could have the brunch at my house. You know how I love to host and this was for such a special occasion that I leapt at the chance!
The morning of, I put up a poster on the front door welcoming the book brunch guests.
I wanted pink decorations throughout the house to match the pink in the book's cover design. I found these super bright pink flowers at Shaws. Score!
I snipped one blossom to add a bit of elegance to the bathroom too.
The dining room would really be the main location and I couldn't wait to see the table covered in brunch treats!
On the edge of the table I put another poster encouraging guests to snap pictures and share them on the book's hashtag, #KissingFrogs.
For weeks I was looking for a frog as the centerpiece of the table. I even created a pinboard to help save my ideas! In the end, I wound up finding this frog prince piggy bank at Target and it was perfect!
As I mentioned before, I want pink pops of color so on the table I also added Ghiradelli chocolates, wrapped in pink foil.
To make our author extraordinaire feel extra special, I also picked up her favorite flowers, yellow roses.
As I mentioned before, brunch is a recurring setting in "Kissing Frogs," particularly Elliott cooking with her grandmother, affectionately called Gram. I re-branded my kitchen for the morning!
The author and chef arrived about an hour before all the guests to prepare her dishes.
She made so many incredible things, all inspired by the Gram character in the book. Great news - you can make them all yourself, because Stephanie documented each recipe on her blog!
- Gram's Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Maple Frosting
- Gram's Leek and Mushroom Frittata
- Gram's Scrambled Eggs
- Gram's Chocolate Raspberry Scones
- Gram's Coffee Cake
After we'd all stuffed our faces, we forced our girl to give us a reading of at least one chapter in the book.
Because she was reading one of the dating disaster chapters, hilarity ensued.
We loved the reading so much, we pushed her to read a second chapter. It's just so good!
At the end of the event, Stephanie generously gifted each brunch guest a tote bag with the #KissingFrogs hashtag on it. So fun!
Our friend Olivia took a bunch of great photos of the group with our totes. Here's one of all of us:
It was so amazing to spend the morning celebrating our incredibly talented friend. Writing a book is huge deal and the amazing thing? This is her third one!
Stephanie - I am continually impressed by your creativity, imagination, commitment and drive. Congratulations!
Get your very own copy of "Kissing Frogs" right here. My full review of the book is coming in a few days!
