happy saturday after thanksgiving! what a lovely four days of less e-mail, little traffic, and abundant parking in the city! although my to-do list seems to have grown exponentially, i love the slower pace of the holidays when expectations are fewer (despite the craziness at the malls!).

i wanted to share an incredibly thoughtful gesture that i received recently from my publisher, inner ocean, based in hawaii. these lovely flowers were flown in from hawaii by their staff with a lovely welcome note. i am delighted to have found such a gracious, entrepreneurial publisher who seems to have gotten the hip tranquil chick concept. as i continue to carry the theme of gratitude into the weekend, i wanted to express thankfulness for my publishing path taking me to this house. it is my understanding that they only pick 12 new books a year, and hip tranquil chick is set to be released for holiday season 2006!

how precious it is to find people who “get” you, appreciate you, and take the time to make you feel special. may we all have this in our lives.