Hello my dears! Well, it's taken me a full week to get over jet-lag and get back into work-mode. (The fact that it's like 10 degrees outside and getting dark everyday at 5 pm doesn't really help with my motivation levels! Ha.) I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the blog, and what I want it to look like in 2015 – but I'd also love to hear what you like, and what you'd like to see more of. More on that in a moment...

When I think about what I love most about having a blog, it's three-fold:

a) Having the creative freedom to share stories and images and recipes that I love.

b) Creating a space of vulnerability to process the (often messy) ups and downs of my life, in the hopes that you can relate, and will be encouraged!

c) And most of all: collaborating.

Anna-Instagram

(Photo by Heidi Ross; table-styling by Ruthie Lindsey.)

At the end of the day, collaboration is by far and away my favorite aspect of having a blog. In addition to my incredible book team, I've been so blessed to have been able to work with uber-talented photographers like Signe Birck, Eric Ryan Anderson, Nate Poekert, Amy Dickerson, and Belathée (to name just a few!)...with stylists like my dear Jenn Elliott Blake and Ruthie Lindsey...with artists like Rebecca Rebouché and Emily Leonard, with graphic designers like Dana Tanamachi and Katie King Rumford, and calligraphers like La Happy. I've especially loved collaborating with other bloggers, like Megan and Mike Gilger of The Fresh Exchange, Amy Anderson of Parker Etc., Kelly d'Amboise of Volatilizing the Esters, Joy Wilson of Joy the Baker, Jeanine Donofrio of Love & Lemons, and all of the other amazing bloggers I partnered with on my dinner party road trip. It's been fun to team up with sommeliers like Olivier Magny and Jean-Luc Le Du, and talented chefs, like the fabulous Lisa Donovan and Eric Bolyard, and I've been privileged to work with brands I love, like ABC Carpet & Home, Whole Foods Market, Volkswagen, Cappello's, Ernest Alexander, Peter Nappi, and Proper Assembly. (Plus two very awesome interns: Elise Inman and Olivia Funk!)

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(Photo by Belathee; table-styling by Jenn Elliott Blake.)

And finally, it has been a blast getting to collaborate with so many of YOU, via recipe-testing and dinner-party-throwing and cookbook-supporting. Truly, I feel so grateful to have such an incredible Yellow Table community: I seriously wouldn't have been able to make it through the blogging or book-writing process without all of your encouragement along with way. I can't tell you how much it means to read your comments and notes, on the blog and on social media. (By the way, it's been brought to my attention that it's hard to comment on the blog – especially if you click over from the link on Instagram. I apologize...right now the blog isn't set up to comment on the home page – you have to click on the title of the post and can then comment at the bottom.)

What I love most about The Yellow Table is that it's not a static space, and it's not a one-woman-show. A table, by its very nature, is about community. It needs people sitting around it – preferably eating and sharing and talking – in order for it to fulfill its purpose. And that's my hope for The Yellow Table blog, that it feels like a dynamic (online) dinner party, crowded with people who are hungry for connection and authenticity, and who share a passion for healthy, homemade food, good conversation, and intentional living. Who's with me?!

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(Photo by Heidi Ross)

My goal for this year is to make the blog as fun, collaborative, and useful as possible. I want The Yellow Table to be your go-to spot for simple, healthy recipes and dinner party inspiration – and hopefully a bit of life inspiration, as well! As many of you know, two of my biggest gurus are Ina Garten (for her simple, elegant entertaining style) and Brene Brown (for her message of loving yourself and living intentionally). It may be kind of weird to try and combine recipes with life lessons, but if I could channel both Ina and Brene on this blog, I'd be a happy camper!

We've got lots of fun plans in the works – a blog re-design, a Yellow Table Supper Club, upcoming book events, and more – but for now, I want to hear from you all! Starting next week, I'll be blogging 3 days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) with a series of regular columns, and I would love to hear from you which categories you would like to see more of: Healthy, 30-Minute Weeknight Meals, Everyday Gatherings (dinner party ideas, menus, prep plan, etc), Monday Musings (i.e. real life talk), "How To" posts (like How to Self-Publish a Book, or How to Become a Freelance Writer, How to Pair Food with Wine), Travel Guides (both NYC and beyond), Inspiring Interviews, Products/Book Reviews, Link Love Reading Round-Ups (what I've been reading lately).

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(Photo and menu design by Love & Lemons)

In the comments section, please let me know Of the categories listed above, which 3 do you want to see regularly on the blog? (And if there's a category not listed that you'd love to see, let me know!) What do you like most about the blog currently? Anything you want to see more/less of?

THANK YOU friends! (And for everyone who comments, your name will be entered into a drawing for a free Yellow Table apron!) Cheers to a collaborative, dinner-party-filled 2015!

xo, Anna

(Opening photo by Amy Dickerson for Anthropology magazine; table-styling by Jenn Elliott Blake; artwork by Emily Leonard.)