It takes a village - to fill two pages

Well, as I posted on Friday (and you'll see on my sidebar) I published my third issue of Surroundings Magazine - The Holiday Style Guide. It's a lot of fun for me to put this together, but it's a lot of work to do only twelve pages. Seriously - I have new found respect for the Rue Girls (their 2nd issue is due literally any moment now) and the folks at Lonny, both of whom put out 200-300 page publications. Of course, they have staff people, but likely not legions of staff, just a few really talented people. I, on the other hand, have just me and I'm pretty cantankerous and am known to whine about holiday bonuses, especially at 3 A.M. Management doesn't find that behavior very productive, but is not yet ready for staff changes. Staff thinks Management should provide a better work environment and stop the late night hours. Picket lines are forming on both sides.

Anyway, last weekend (7 whole days ago) I wrote to several of my favorite blog and design friends and asked them to provide me with their best tip for holiday entertaining, or ideas for hostess gifts. Basically, just some little nugget - because this is certainly a group that has lots of nuggets of goodness in their design holsters. Mixed metaphor's aside, they are THE BEST. Within 4 days, I'd received eleven fantastic responses, complete with photos (in some cases staged for this purpose) and great ideas.

So,I wanted to take a moment to thank my very generous friends for their excellent ideas and participation. I know how busy you all are and I appreciate your support!

Eddie Ross - EddieRoss.com

Greet LeFevre - Belgian Pearls

Stacy Kunstel - StacyStyle

Grant K. Gibson - GrantKGibson, The Blog

Megan Arquette - Beach Bungalow 8

Vicki Archer - French Essence

Monika Claassen - Splendid Willow

Gina Milne - Willow Decor

Trish Allen - Trouvais

Joni Webb - Cote de Texas

Scot Meacham Wood - Tartan Scot

You can read all their great tips here.

Speaking of digital magazines, Megan, Joni and I chatted about the new field of digital magazines, including Rue and Lonny, and many others. We're also hosting a give-a-way - a $200 shopping spree courtesy of One King's Lane!!  So, stay tuned for that post up on Monday!

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