Dear Friends,

Summer has finally arrived, and I am committing myself to visiting the shore at least once a week... partaking in walks on the beach and putting at the very least my feet in the surf. I only was able to make it to the ocean once last summer, and that visit didn’t occur until mid‑September. It made me realize that my priorities were really "askew,” and that I needed to really focus on "re‑charging" my thoughts and relaxing my mind.

The natural world is always a wonder to me. I am always engaged and moved by the beauty around me, and it never matters how many times I see it. It’s always new, fresh, and inspiring. I plan to take lots of photos on my outings, and I will be sure to share them with you on next summer's web site.

The new pages that you’ll see here are inspired by my wife, Jenny, and they are filled with her love of everything floral. We've collected lots of inspirations over the years and gathered them here to create this simple and fun “summer” site for you. All the crafts are easy 1-and-2- step projects, and the foods are simple, but delicious standbys that are summer traditions in our household. Please enjoy the free downloads (the "summer sweets" cookie labels are great for party favors and showers), and the paper has a delicate heirloom look that I’m sure you’ll find terrific for gifts or to use in your own home.

As many of you know, I contributed to the food pages of  Country Home  for years. (Thank you for all the nice letters regarding the "cake walk" the "drive in movie," and "the knitting bee.") I've been able to re‑direct those efforts into a new book about entertaining that will be out from Wylie Press in 2008. It’s a very exciting and beautiful book, photographed by my good friend, Quentin Bacon, known for his work in "The Barefoot Contessa Series" by Ina Garten, as well as the great books from Mario Batali, Sara Foster, and Lucinda Scala Quinn, and, of course, his amazing images in both Food and Wine and Martha Stewart Living. My book is co‑written with my dear friend, Jill Kirchner‑Simpson, known for her lifestyle books with Mary Emmerling and Tricia Foley, and her contributions to  Country Living.  It’s designed by my inspiring friend, Doug Turshen, who has created pages and pages of spectacular work for Carolyne Roehm, Bunny Williams and Rosie O'Donnell, just to name a few. This book is a turning point in my career, and I am anxiously awaiting its publication so that I can share it all with you.

Lastly, I want to wish all of you the kind of summer I remember from my childhood. There was the lushness of spring bursting forth from the flower beds at my grandmother’s house. I especially remember the hydrangea bush next to the arbor. It was overwhelming in the number of blooms and the delicious scent. As children, we would pick the flowers and proceed to fly around the yard with them in some sort of manic dance of spring. My parents and grandparents would relax in the red and yellow Adirondack chairs and watch us as the evening waned. Then, we would fall asleep in the back seat of the station wagon on the short drive from their home to ours. Remembering those evenings gives me a warm, nostalgic feeling inside, and I wish that kind of feeling for you as well this summer.

Enjoy!
Matthew