Good morning, friends! Hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day, and relaxing long weekend. Funny, as a freelancer, I always forget about holidays like President's Day. For me, every day's a potential work day, but I hope that for those of you who had the day off, that you were able to stay cozy and warm! It's a snowy 10 degrees in NYC and our heat decided to stop working yesterday. I mean...it's kind of working, but it's impossible to stay warm unless you wear multiple sweaters, wrap yourself in a blanket, and sit with your feet directly on the radiator. I sat like that for an hour yesterday morning, until I wisely relocated to the hotel lobby across the street from our apartment, where I happily sipped hot tea, ate split pea soup, and enjoyed their central heating and free Wifi. (Thank you, Nolitan!) Fortunately, we're on a warm train today and the super of our building said he'll get the heating fixed while we're gone. Fingers crossed!

So...I wanted to give you guys a book update, since so many of you have been asking when they'll be available again. As you know, we have completely run out of books, on Amazon and in all of our stores – with the exception of the brand new Montrose Shop in Houston, TX. (Check them out if you're in the area!) I just saw on Amazon today that used copies of my book are being sold for over $7000?!?! What?! That's absolutely crazy - please know I have nothing to do with that.

Since I got back from Sicily, I've been meeting with lots of people in the publishing industry to try and gauge if there might be a publisher interested in working with me to reprint the book. Simultaneously, I've also been trying to make connections with buyers at some of the major national retail stores. Though Brandon and I are open to reprinting the books on our own, it's a huge financial investment, and it basically means that all of the sales and distribution falls to me. Which is a full-time job in and of itself. And frankly I'd rather be spending my time working on the blog and other projects – cooking, writing, developing new recipes, food-styling – and putting together a proposal for my next book!

Anyway, after many meetings and a lot of prayer, we didn't have any open doors on the publishing side, so we decided last week to go ahead and reprint 5000 more copies on our own. We knew it was a financial risk, but we want to get the books back out there again – and our printer said they could have them ready by early March.

But then something crazy happened. Literally one minute after I submitted the purchase order to the printer, I got an email from a NYC-based publisher who said they were really interested in my book! I can't reveal any names or give any details *yet* – but suffice it to say, after some very encouraging talks, the interest on both sides is strong enough that I've put the reprint on hold until I see how things shape up in the coming weeks. So hold tight for just a little bit longer! We will have more books in the coming months, I promise. And fingers-crossed that I have a very exciting story to tell you all soon!!

In the meantime, here are a couple of fun reads and cozy recipes to help you escape the cold...

*Did you read the NY Times essay about the 36 Questions that will supposedly make you fall in love with anyone? Even if you're already in a relationship, I highly recommend going through these questions...it goes to show there's always something new to learn about your partner.

*My friend Joy the Baker shared a week of her meals on The Grub Street Diet. Spoiler alert: she eats ribs, French fries, cocktails, and King cake! And doughnuts. Love her.

*Sara Forte, of Sprouted Kitchen, posted a recipe for butternut squash enchiladas with black beans and goat cheese. (Yum!!) She also has a new book coming out next month...pre-order here.

*Kelly d'Amboise, of Volatizing the Esters, tells us why creative retreats are so important (I agree!).

*Skye McAlpine, the Venice-based blogger behind From My Dining Table, shares a recipe for red wine risotto.

*Ashley Rodriguez, of Not Without Salt, talks about feeding and being fed.

Butternut squash, kale, and quinoa stew from Love & Lemons (can't wait to make this!)

*My amazingly talented artist friend Rebecca Rebouche turned her rural Louisiana treehouse into a temporary gallery to showcase her paintings for a one-night arts festival, with food, drinks, and live music – and 150 of her closest friends! Check out the pictures on her blog...looks like a magical evening!

Happy Tuesday everyone! I promise I'm going to get on a regular M, W, F posting schedule soon...!

xo, Anna