I’m so excited to share this wonderful news with you today! The official launch party for my book Decorate will be at Liberty in London on Wednesday, April 13, 2011. I am thrilled to have such a gorgeous store so generously supporting me and my first book but equally happy to be able to invite you to this special event so we can meet and share a fun evening together. I do hope that you can attend! It will also be a great networking event as I have some lovely friends who will be there, including book photographer Debi Treloar, fellow bloggers, stylists, designers… even a few of the homeowners who are in Decorate will be celebrating with us. There will be a fun styling demo as well that I’ll be doing with my two dear friends, Sania Pell and Leslie Shewring.

Liberty will have copies of the book available for sale that I will sign and they’ll be a few special things happening that evening. First, from 4-4:30 p.m. I’ll be speaking about the book and answering questions at an exclusive press event. Space for that is limited and you need to be a member of the press or a blogger to attend.

Next, at 6 p.m., I’ll be speaking again to Liberty customers and those interested in learning more about the inspiration behind Decorate.

At 7 p.m. I’ve invited two book contributors to do a styling demonstration along with me in the brand new Liberty Dining Room, stylist Sania Pell (whose home is inside of the book) and stylist, photographer and decor8 columnist, Leslie Shewring (her daughter’s bedroom is in the book too). Together we’ll show you how to lay a lovely table with a personal touch using beautiful things that we’ve collected from the inspiring Liberty store. I’ll also do a book signing so you may purchase your book there. I can’t wait to mingle but please do arrive on time as these events can fly by and I want to be able to meet each of you and have enough time to chat. Come prepared to be inspired and have fun!

To recap:

4-4:30 p.m. Meeting with the press. Please RSVP to: liz [dot] somers [at] jacquismallpub [dot] com with Decorate Press Event in the subject line and in the body of the email please indicate the magazine, newspaper, blog, etc.

6 p.m. I’ll be speaking in the Heritage room. Please RSVP to libertyevents [at] liberty [dot] co [dot] uk with Decorate Talk in the subject line. Only a limited number can attend so please confirm your attendance as soon as possible.

7 p.m. Reception and book signing along with a styling demonstration in the new Liberty Dining Room, please RSVP to libertyevents [at] liberty [dot] co [dot] uk with Decorate Demo/Signing in the subject line.

If you want to attend some or all of the above events, please put the event name in the subject line so we have an accurate headcount and RSVP separately to each event that interests you.

I can’t wait to see everyone there, I’m so excited to meet you! Yay!

See you soon! – Holly

I thought that by approaching Monday with a positive “let’s do THIS” attitude today that it might help me to get through my painfully long task list this week. Gulp! I’ve got a lot on my plate but I wouldn’t have it any other way because the truth is that a busy schedule invigorates me if I’m busy doing things that I like. You must feel the same!

[Affordable furniture from UO: mint green bookshelf, gold chair, patchwork chair, metal storage shelf, birdcage hanging lamp and the concert folding chair.]

Truth is, I’ve been thinking a lot about my business lately and some new project ideas which has me very inspired and motivated because I believe that you have to be in the right place emotionally at the right time in order to put certain plans into motion — I believe that I’m ready for taking on some new (but still decor8-related) projects and as I go, I’ll certainly tell you about them.

We evolve as people and so does our decorating style, interests, friendships, even where we live and the foods we eat — life is really about knowledge, growth, change, improvement, working hard to make our life better and to help those around us amongst many other things. I think that when you begin a week on a positive note and view it as a way to evolve and grow – by Friday you will have learned a few new things and quite possibly found an illuminating realization or discovery along the way.

[I love this cabinet because I want one just like it for my office to store props and supplies in. This is from Purl Bee.]

[I'm inspired by how this book was wrapped in white paper and then decorated with Japanese masking tape as shown in German magazine Living At Home.]

[I love these patterns from Abbey Hendrickson.]

[Bolts of gorgeous Amy Butler fabric and a patch on a jeans pocket. Patches in general are inspiring me currently.]

[The 60s vibe of this white dress and the gorgeous details and these fresh colors from Lilly Pulitzer.]

[Sequin-toe shoes from J.Crew, lace bowls by Hideminy, Orla Kiely candles, sequin pillow from Urban Outfitters.]

Let’s face, you can’t have an “A-ha!” moment unless you are out there surrounding yourself with what you help you to connect the dots. Work, people, family, going outside of your comfort zone, pushing yourself a little hard, testing your ideas… Monday is the starting point to a new week and a new change to go out into the world to gather and give.

To begin the week on a positive note this post contains inspiring finds from around the web. Please click on the links under each image above to see more. It’s a nice way to begin the week – to share what is currently inspiring me with the goal to inspire you as well. Enjoy!

(images linked to their sources above)

I got up this morning and felt so inspired to begin a new week… and I’m starting to feel really excited about my book launching on March 25 in the UK — I can’t wait! I have a Facebook fan page for Decorate and I’d love it if you would join because I’m not only sharing book contributors and their websites each day until the launch, but I’m also going to start listing upcoming book tour dates. So far, I have a book launch party secured in London on April 13 (I’ll tell you where soon) and a book signing and blogger meet up scheduled in Amsterdam on June 25.

I’ll also be speaking at the Blogher/Creative Connection event in St. Paul (please come if you can!!!) on September 15 and doing a book signing there that weekend, and on Sunday, September 18th I’ll be in Berlin speaking at a huge event for small business that Etsy is hosting called Hello Etsy. It feels good to be booking dates to get out there and meet lots of you – I can’t wait.

To stay in the loop please join the Decorate Facebook Page and if you’d like, the decor8 Facebook page too — I’m posting stuff regularly on both fan pages for the book and the blog. :)

Here’s to getting out there to mix +  mingle and sell some books – yay! These are exciting times for sure.

P.S. Thank you Casasugar for the great review!

(image: holly becker for decor8)

It was such a pleasure to hear personally from Brooklyn’s own Paul Lowe today about his new issue of Sweet Paul magazine with a focus on kids. It just released online less than 15 minutes ago and I just had a peek and wow, it’s gorgeous and so creative — some of the spreads gave me goosebumps, it was exciting to see something fresh and new for a change and digital publishing gives so many the opportunity (who should be doing magazines) to have their own magazine now…

All I can say is TGFSP! Thank goodness for Sweet Paul! If you’ve not heard of Paul before, his magazine is based on his wildly successful Sweet Paul blog – check it out!

(images: sweet paul magazine)

I’m so happy Monday is here because now I can work on all of the projects that I need to get done since I couldn’t quite relax this weekend with deadlines looming. Today is also a special day because Blogging Your Way began and will continue for the next four weeks. I love teaching online, I can’t believe that I’m a month shy of two years of teaching this class – it’s crazy to think about how quickly time passes. It’s very exciting to teach because each course brings in an entirely new batch of students from all over the world that I can mix and mingle with quite intimately and it’s a nice feeling. While students are receiving their new wings to prepare them for a creative journey, I am dusting off my own and discovering new pieces of myself as I work with them. Teaching can be therapeutic, encouraging and eye opening to more than just the pupil!

Teaching in a room or a closed environment online feels so cozy! I also enjoy passing out homework each week because the idea of inspiring others to really dig deep and peel back the layers excites me. I always wonder what a student will take from the course and most importantly, what will click inside of them that is the one click that will make a difference.

How are you? What did you do this weekend? I spent a lot of time writing lessons for my class and hanging out with some friends, along with my mother-in-law who joined us for dinner on Saturday (so nice to have family in the same district). My mother in Boston got a copy of my book and called me because she was really! excited! and! had! a! ton! of! questions! She made me laugh. That phone call will stay with me for awhile. She was proud of me and that felt nice. No matter how old we get, or how far from home we live, a high five from a parent can be almost as satisfying now as it was when we were kids.

(image: holly becker for decor8)