Happy Monday everyone! I really wish I were one of those bloggers who mapped out an editorial schedule a month in advance, and had a beautiful new post waiting for you at 8 a.m. on Monday morning. But, alas. I'm me. Which means, you get a post about what's on my mind today. And sometimes that post comes late in the afternoon because I've been so busy working on other non-blog-related deadlines all morning. And, more often than not, I'm writing in my PJ's and furry slippers, with my third cup of tea sitting beside me. The glamorous life of a blogger...(ha!).

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The yellow table in its element. I love how neat and clean my apartment looks!

I wanted to write you all though for two reasons today. One, The Yellow Table was recently featured on The Kitchn! It's such a huge honor to get a chance to collaborate with one of my favorite websites. They put out such great content, and their editors, Sara Kate and Faith, just recently came out with a fantastic cookbook of their own. (Check it out here.) Last week, they ran 3 posts about The Yellow Table: one, a Kitchen Tour of my tiny NYC kitchen, two, 8 smart tips on how to create space in a small kitchen, and three, a fall pasta recipe with chanterelles, sausage, and Swiss chard. I hope you enjoy reading them!

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Not sure what I'm looking at here, but at least I look like I'm having fun!

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(L) My kitchen, with its tiny sink and one original counter; (R) I love my magnetic knife strip!

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To save space, I pile all of my big bowls, pots, and colanders on top of my makeshift pantry.

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We found these stools in the trash in our building, and Brandon made the bar out of an old IKEA bookshelf.

Pablo Enriquez, a NYC-based photographer who shoots regularly for The Kitchn (and for NY Times), came over to shoot my apartment last month. I'm not going to lie: I was super-intimidated to have a photographer – besides one of my friends – come shoot my apartment, and me! Fortunately, Pablo is SO nice, and we had a great time working together. The poor guy had to lug heavy bags of equipment and lights up 5 flights of stairs to my apartment, and somehow still managed to stay in good spirits. His pictures make my apartment look pretty great, but what you don't see is the piles of stuff we had to move out into the middle of the room, so it looks clutter-free in whatever area of the apartment we're shooting. Of course, I had to take a few behind-the-scenes iPhone shots to document the process.

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Pablo shooting in my kitchen - check out all the lights!

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True confessions: I had to pile all sorts of junk in the middle of the room to eliminate clutter in the pictures.

I love Pablo's photos, and he did a great job capturing all of the quirkly little details in my kitchen. Goes to show you don't need a fancy kitchen to cook or entertain!

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Sauteeing some chanterelle mushrooms for the pasta.

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Lunch: trumpet pasta with chanterelles, sausage, and Swiss chard. And yes, we ate it!

But the second reason I wanted to write is even more exciting: I am getting the first copies of my cookbook TOMORROW MORNING!!!! It feels crazy to even write those words, because I've been dreaming of this moment for so long. I literally don't know what I'm going to do when I hold the book in my hands for the first time, and flip through each page. I have butterflies in my stomach even thinking about it. I definitely think this goes into the category of biggest moments of my life (filed away with: surprise Paris proposal, marrying Brandon, seeing my first WSJ feature in print, and cooking for Carine Roitfeld.) The problem, of course, is that I always overhink things in advance. Sometimes I get so many expectations for how I should feel, that I end up disappointed in the moment. I just want to enjoy the experience for what it is, whether I laugh or cry or feel nothing at all.

Anywho, don't you worry: I'll snap a photo (or maybe even a video) as soon as I get the books tomorrow, and share it on Instagram. I'm only getting in a few advance copies tomorrow – the rest will be in next week. So for those of you who have ordered copies, stay tuned! I'll be shipping out books the week of November 10, and I'll be hosting several events in NYC to sell and distribute books!

xo, Anna

P.S. I'm having my NYC media book launch party next week, and I would LOVE help! I am looking for 2-3 volunteers to help me assemble book bags, prep and serve appetizers, pour drinks, and help with clean-up. Email me at [email protected] if you're interested: you'll receive a signed copy of the book, a Yellow Table apron, and lots of good food and bubbly. It's going to be a fun night, I promise!

(Photos by Pablo Enriquez)