In the Company of Women Book Tour: Corte Madera, CA

Hi Friends! I just wanted to share that I'll be part of a panel to celebrate Design*Sponge's new book, In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs. The event is on Friday, October 28th at 7 p.m. at Book Passage in Corte Madera. I’ve been asked by my friend, design icon and ultimate boss lady Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge to speak on a panel alongside Flora Grubb and Emi Grannis. I'm excited, honored (shocked?!) and totally nervous! 

Here's a link to the event:
http://www.bookpassage.com/event/grace-bonney-contributors-company-women-corte-madera
Each ticket includes a copy of the book, the panel discussion, and a book signing after, and, while supplies last, an illustrated tote designed by Libby VanderPloeg.

Pre-order the book here:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1579655971/ref=cm_sw_su_dp

Hope to see some of you there! :)

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Giveaway: The 52 New Foods Challenge Book

When I met Jennifer Tyler Lee a couple of weeks ago at her book party and dinner event at Williams-Sonoma (thanks again for the invite Jeanne!), I was really inspired by her dedication to healthy eating and making it fun for kids to try new foods. Lucas eats a variety of foods and will try many new things, but he doesn't eat much and would rather play than eat. I lucked out with Theo, on the other hand, who eats like a champ most of the time. No stranger to mealtime battles, I was really inspired by Jennifer and her latest book, The 52 New Foods Challenge which is full of fun tips and simple recipes.

Check out the giveaway details at the end of the post.

One tip that really resonated with me was to cook with your kids, not for them. I know it's easier said than done, but I love how Jennifer suggested trying it out just once a week. From simply going to the grocery store/farmer's market and having your kid choose one new vegetable to getting their hands dirty in the kitchen, once a week sounded pretty doable. She also said it wasn't about getting the kids to eat the end product but inspiring curiosity and building confidence.

To my surprise, I EASILY got Lucas and Theo to help me peel leaves off brussels sprouts to make her simple and delicious Brussels Sprouts Chips recipe. When they were done, Lucas complained that he didn't get his own bowl of chips. Yeah, these were amazing and inhaled in a flash. And we've made them several times already so this one's a winner.

We even roasted some asparagus the following week and I asked Lucas if he wanted to snap them apart for me and he couldn't have been more excited. And all I had to do was ask!

Another tip from Jennifer was to go to the grocery store or farmers market and have your kid pick out anything from the vegetable aisle -- bonus points for something new. I headed to Whole Foods and told Lucas to pick out anything he wanted from the vegetable aisle. His eyes lit up and he seemed so empowered by this. He immediately chose carrots and I said, "That's awesome, I know you love carrots." As I put them in the cart, he said, "Okay, I'm going to try something else. How about that? What's that?" He pointed to the prettiest bunch of radishes and we both got super excited to try them out. He carried them on his lap on the car ride home. Side note: he instantly forgot about them when we got home but that's not the point, right?

In hopes of inspiring curiosity, building confidence, reducing dinnertime battles and spending more time with my kids, I'm definitely going to try getting them in the kitchen with me more often. I know it won't always work but it's worth a try!

I was so inspired by Jennifer that I would love to give away one of her books!

Here's how to enter:

• Follow @good_on_paper and @crunchacolor on Instagram, leave a comment and tag a friend with a kid(s).

• If you don't have Instagram you can leave your email in the comments below

• Please comment by Friday, April 3rd, 12pm PST

• This giveaway is for U.S. residents only

• I will announce a winner selected by random number generator by Monday, April 6th

Best of luck!

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CONGRATS to Michele of @cakewalkbaking for being the randomly selected winner!
This giveaway is now CLOSED.

Favorites: The 52 New Foods Challenge Book and Williams-Sonoma Event

Last week I got a super sweet invitation from my friend Jeanne of Shop Sweet Things (one of my favorite lifestyle blogs) to attend a private dinner at Williams-Sonoma in San Francisco's Union Square to celebrate the latest book by Jennifer Tyler Lee, an award-winning author, game creator (Crunch a Color), and healthy eating advocate. The 52 New Foods Challenge book launch party was so much fun! And even more fun was meeting Jennifer, watching her cook and getting totally inspired by her tips on how to make it fun and playful for kids to eat healthier and try new foods.

Stay tuned for an Instagram giveaway next week!

The Williams-Sonoma team really brought it together with a beautifully simple tablescape that included fresh and pickled jarred vegetables and along with fresh flowers.

Here's the lovely Jeanne introducing Jennifer. That gigantic open kitchen is a total dream!

Another highlight of the night was meeting Amanda Haas, Director of Culinary at Williams-Sonoma, founder of One Family One Meal and author of Cooking Light Real Family Food. We follow each other on Instagram so it was nice to finally meet her in person. She's such an inspiration and a total sweetie with laid back style and humor.

These Quinoa Crumble Cakes were surprisingly one of my favorite dishes of the night. I made quinoa cakes before and they did not taste anything like these! Ha! I had about 9 of these that night.

Also loved the Clay Pot (but not made in a Clay Pot) Chicken Fried Rice. Super easy to make and so good! My kids would love it so it's on my list to make soon (like this week!).

Remember to check in next week as I'll be doing an Instagram giveaway for the book!

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My Work: Card Set Collaboration with Sally J. Shim for Brika

I recently designed a card set in collaboration with blogger/designer/crafter/mama/author Sally J. Shim that is available exclusively for Brika in limited quantities. The cards are part of the Pretty Paper and Packages Gift Set which includes Sally's new book Pretty Packages (published by Chronicle Books), 1 'Thank You' stamp + 8 hand-lettered gift tags by Ampersanity, and my set of 3 cards with graphic patterns inspired by the book's cover.

It was so fun and easy collaborating with Sally (remember when Sally and her boys came to visit us in Berkeley this summer?). She is a crafter extraordinaire and magically turns any package into a beautiful gift. Way better than my wrap-gift-in-tissue-paper-throw-in-old-bag style! Lucas and I did the Hand Carved Stamp Wrapping Paper Project and we had so much fun! The book is chock-full of creative gift wrapping projects, many of which are kid-friendly which we loved. Check out the Gift Set at Brika for the holidays!

+ Photos courtesy of Brika
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How to Hang a Picture

I am so proud of my talented and hard working friends, Suzanne Lagasa and Jay Sacher who designed and illustrated their new book, How to Hang a Picture (And Other Essentials for the Stylish Home). The foreword was written by the lovely Anh-Minh Le of Anthology magazine. It features step-by-step instructions, tips and tricks, and beautiful watercolor illustrations of real spaces -- including our home. We were so honored and appreciative to have a few little nooks from our home illustrated by Jay. The one of Lucas' room is my favorite. I especially love how the clutter magically disappeared in the illustrated versions.