Hello friends! OK, you know how I posted like week that the cookbook was finished?! HA. Well, that wasn't quite true. We shipped everything off to the printer early last week, then got a 14-pound FedEx box on Friday with two sets of proofs – one called blue lines, for text corrections, and the other Epson color proofs, to check color. I spent the weekend through Monday looking things over with Katie and Signe (design and color checks), then Monday with Lauren doing a final read through which resulted in 63 pages that needed text corrections. I about had a nervous breakdown, because at this point, each page that we change has a cost attached. Katie input all of the changes into the files, I shipped the proofs back yesterday, and as of today we are TRULY finished! What a crazy adventure. I need a nap.

But actually, that's not at all what I wanted to write about today. I've been planning for months to do a post with fellow-blogger Sara (Lenton) Cornelius, of Cake Over Steak. (She's my kind of gal – I'd eat cake over steak any day, as well!) Sara lives in Pennsylvania with her new husband Robert, and even though she has a fulltime job as a designer and illustrator, she manages to create her gorgeous blog on the side.

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I don't remember when exactly Sara reached out to me, but she's been super-supportive of the cookbook project from early on, and when I asked for volunteers to recipe test, she was one of the first volunteers! I asked all of my recipe testers to throw a brunch or dinner party if they wanted, to share the food they had made with their friends and family. Sara not only threw a beautiful brunch – that included the orange-zest scones pictured above – she had her husband shoot the whole thing, and asked me if she could write a blog post on the book and the brunch. (Um, yes!)

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One of my favorite things about blogging is meeting so many amazing friends across the country - and around the world – via social media. Though we've never met, Sara is definitely a kindred spirit and I truly hope that we have a chance to share a meal together one day. Sara shared some of their photos with me (which you can see in the post today), but head over to her blog to read the full story. (And P.S. when you get there, the opening picture of the scone and compote is an ILLUSTRATION! It's amazing!!)

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Also, if you have any desire to recreate this brunch at home, click on the links below for recipes:

Orange-Zest Scones with Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote

Mini Frittatas with Goat Cheese, Spinach & Roasted Tomatoes

Citrus Salad with Arugula and Ricotta Salata

Crunchy Maple-Pecan Granola

Yogurt + Berries

xo, Anna

P.S. I'm still planning to do my series of posts on "Pursuing A Dream" – I'm just going to start on Friday since this week turned out a little crazier than anticipated. Sorry for the delay!

(Opening photo of scones by Signe Birck; other photos by Robert Cornelius)