Let me tell you a story about this bottle of champagne. I bought it when Food Saved Me came out and said we’d pop it if it hit the NY Times. I think I bought one when Eat What You Love released as well and said the same. Both of those books did not hit that list, but they’ve been read, cooked from and passed on to so many kitchens and reading chairs. I’ve heard incredible testimonies from Food Saved Me, and have seen you cooking ALL.THE.COMFORT.FOOD from Eat What You Love over the years. But the week where you find out about the list rolled by without a spot, and I kind of just forgot to stop and celebrate, moving on to the next project. I learned a difficult lesson this year. I realized that I didn’t stop to celebrate enough. I either focused on where we went wrong, or zoomed past the successes, laser focused on what was next. It’s not healthy for me, and definitely doesn’t create a positive work environment for those around me. So when HIAH released, I was instructed by 2 very wise people ☺️ to pop a bottle on release day, because I worked incredibly hard for 3 years to create the recipes, edit the manuscript, and direct the photoshoots; and my whole team put all they had into the marketing plans to get the book out there into the world. It’s the age old - “stop and smell the roses” advice, and it’s a good one to remember. I did as they said, and it was a very good recommendation 🥰 We got amazing news last week, so we celebrated last night all over again with the kids with a toast (apple cider for them - Easton pounded 2 of course). I cried “happy tears” as Kezia said. And then we had one of our famous Walker dance parties. 🪩💃🕺 And I raised a glass to everyone else who helped get this book out there. My literary agent Kari. My entire magical photography team. Ten Speed Press and my editor Julie. Kelli and her whole team at KCH. The marketing team at PRH. My DW team who drive the ship when I’m eyeball deep in edits. The team at ID. My amazing community recipe testers. My family who cheered me on a long the way. And to all of you, who inspire me to keep creating by diving right into the book and cooking the recipes in your own kitchens. CHEERS 🥂