Indictments! Renovations! Chocolate Mousse!

Hi, I’m Gabrielle Blair and this is my newsletter. It’s completely free to access and read, but if you feel so moved to support my work, please consider a paid newsletter subscription: just $5/month or save money with the $50/annual sub. You can also go way above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $75. Or, some of you have let me know you’d rather support my work directly via Paypal and Venmo (@gabrielle-blair). Thank you! Seriously, thank you. Support from readers keeps this newsletter ad and sponsor-free.

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I was up late last night having ice cream with Oscar and Ben Blair, and when I finally went to bed around midnight, I checked my phone and saw a tweet about Trump’s Indictment. (What?!!!!) And then of course I was wide awake for another 30 minutes reading reactions and sharing them. (I have an second IG account called Twitter By DesignMom where I share memorable/interesting tweets.)

When I woke up this morning, I was hoping for more details about what comes next, but apparently, we’re all just going to have to wait and see what this indictment actually means. It’s quite a finale to this whirlwind month of March.

Are you following the indictment story? Or the Gwyneth Paltrow ski-accident trial? Or maybe all you can think about this week is gun violence? I found Meg Conley’s essay on “The School Shooter Era” compelling:

“100 years from now, there will be a section in U.S. textbooks about The School Shooter Era. The horror, the dead children, the bullet proof backpacks and active shooter drills will be explained in a couple paragraphs. It will be easy enough for a fifth grader to understand.”

Meg’s essay continues as if it’s a textbook entry. I hope you get a chance to read it.

If your brain needs something more calming, I highly recommend my latest Instagram post that features some deeply satisfying before-and-after images of our renovation.

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More Book Tour Stops In The Works!

At your kind request, I’m working on another round of book tour stops! I’m headed to the US in May to speak at the Mom 2.0 Summit, and also because our son Ralph is graduating from college. Lots of good stuff! And I’m trying to plan some book tour stops while I travel. Here are the places and dates I’m hoping to have events:

Chicago, IL - May 4th

Tulsa, OK - May 6th

Phoenix, AZ - May 9th

Salt Lake City, UT - May 11th

Berkeley, CA - May 13th

Atlanta, GA - May 15th

Right now, these are all just tentative dates and locations — I’ll keep you updated as things become official. In the meantime, if you live in one of these cities/areas and know the perfect bookstore/event space to host an event, please let me know.

Wondering if I’ll be doing book events in Europe? Yes! I would love to! In fact, our family is headed to Amsterdam in April during the next school break. I mentioned this on Instagram, and Saron, a lovely woman who lives there, helped arrange for a book event in Amsterdam on April 18th!! So if you’re in Amsterdam, mark your calendar, because I can’t wait to meet you. I’ll share an event link on Instagram as soon as I have it.

And yes, I would love to do more book events in Europe! Maybe when different countries publish the translation, I can go and celebrate and do an author event. Here are the countries in Europe who have arranged for translation rights with my publisher so far:
Germany
Italy
Portugal
Spain
France
Poland
UK

I don’t have official dates on when these translations or new editions will come out, but when I hear news I’ll let you know. I really hope I get to do book events in each of these countries. That would be so dreamy to get to connect with some of you!

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Lately on Design Mom

How to Grow Your Own Wheat Grass. I love displaying wheat grass in the spring. It’s easy to grow and brings a lot of joy. And if you plant it today, it will be looking pretty and lawn-like by Easter (which is on April 9th this year).

Make Some Adorable Felted Spring Chicks. Have you ever felted wool before? It’s one of those techniques that feels kind of magical. Come check out this project to see what it’s like.

The Easiest Chocolate Mousse You’ll Ever Make. This is an all-time favorite recipe of Design Mom readers.

Make a Geometric Wire Bunny. Make little versions as napkin rings, or an oversize version for your front door. Free printable template included.

One Pot Dinner: Mediterranean Chicken Pilaf. Five reasons you’ll love this recipe: 1) It’s so easy to prepare, and clean-up is a snap, 2) SO yummy, 3) it’s an odds-and-ends recipe that will help you clear out your fridge and pantry, 4) there’s spinach in it, so it’s got to be healthy too, right? and 5) did I mention how delicious it is?!

How To Get the Most Intense Easter Egg Colors. Will you be dyeing eggs this year? This is the guide we use for standard food dye droppers. (If you’d rather use natural dyes, I’ve got a guide for that too.)

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That’s all for now. I hope you are going to have a restful and relaxed weekend. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind.

kisses,
Gabrielle