NESTING NEWBIES (Issue 4) design bloggers + gorgeous tablescapes + amazing food + incredible landscape

The Design Bloggers - that's me in the back with the dark hair by the grill

Love these vignettes :: that's me in the upper right with the white dress

The meal was insane - amazing - wonderful!

Ok..you have to make the goat cheese stuffed dates. Will. change. your. life.

This honey saffron butter was unlike anything I had every had before - loved it!

Love these girls :: Erin, Emily, Anne and me

I still can't believe how pretty this day was - look at where our "Set" was - wow!

A view of the vines

The design blogger ladies hanging out pre-shoot

Enjoying the meal with sweet friends, Jennifer & Erin

Oh la la - am I excited about this one - the summer issue of NESTING NEWBIES is live! I have been keeping a little secret for a few weeks now and can finally talk about this incredible day with design blogger friends (old and new), the amazing editors behind Nesting Newbies - Lea and Jodi, our day at Fogarty Winery and just the overall fabulousness of this magazine.

I had met Jodi and Lea (seriously talented and nice people) at Blog Out Loud 5 in March 2010 and we followed it up with a great lunch at the SF|DC. They told me about their idea for a morroccan-themed dinner party for their summer issue that would include Lea's *seriously* amazing menu, a beautifully designed tablescape, the Fogarty Winery as a venue and a group of lovely design bloggers. 

"Would I want to be part of this?" 

YES!!!

In late June, 13 design blogger ladies arrived at the Fogarty Winery venue a few miles south of San Francisco. As you can see from my photos above, it was quite breathtaking. We were shown the the tablescape that was designed by talented Jennifer Fraise and it was a sweet pink, green and white palette with both vintage and modern touches - elegant yet light. I personally loved the birdcage as a centerpiece and the floor cushions - a great small space idea. (See page 62 for a full behind-the-scenes video of how Jennifer concepted and created the tablescape) 

After the photo shoot overlooking the valley (did i say WOW already), we moved to the  Fogarty dining room in the main building where we enjoyed Lea's wonderful meal. As you can see from my reaction - it was also a gorgeous tablescape and view! (See a behind-the-scenes look on page 12 at Lea prepping the menu and the bloggers walking and enjoying the meal - what a night!!) 

The entire day and evening was spectacular. and the Nesting Newbies issue 4 is really pretty amazing. Over 200 pages of design, cuisine and style inspiration - Jodie and Lea are total visionaries. Click here to view and also download your own copy for free!

On a personal note, I got to spend time with friends Emily, Jeanine, Anne, Erin, Julia, Jennifer and meet all the other ladies. I began this blogging journey almost three years ago as a place to keep track of my inspiration notebook and now it has become a big part of my life with wonderful opportunities and huge rewards-  like all the new, true friends and e-meeting all of YOU!  Love it!

:: Images 1 - 7 from Nesting Newbies Issue 4 and the rest from me ::

Share