My mother is a wonderful and generous soul, but also the most stubborn, aggravating woman on the planet. She would and often does offer me the shoes off her feet and all the food in her pantry. But then I have to listen to endless complaints, like how the line dance teacher at the senior center snubbed and insulted her last week. This is the reality of moms, and the price this daughter has to pay for leaving Mom’s house with huge supplies of coffee and chocolate.

Mom’s stubbornness is evident when the subject of my crochet comes around. It’s 2006. I rush to her house to present her with a copy of my first book, Amazing Crochet Lace. I explain that I am a professional crochet designer. But Mom still doesn’t quite get what I do.

“Oh, I like this, beautiful” she coos, pointing at a book image. “You can make for my friend?”

“No, Mom, I don’t make things for people. I sell designs.”

“That’s okay, she can pay for it,” cajoles Mom.

“No, Mom, I don’t sell crochet stuff. I only make it once as a sample for the pictures. Then I show how you can make it for yourself from the pattern.”

Her face falls. “I can’t do that, it’s too hard.”

I know very well that she wouldn’t, couldn’t crochet anything from my patterns because she doesn’t understand or read English well enough to follow along. I know this because of how I learned to crochet from her when I was a girl, by example, by rote, in the same way she learned from her mother. Mom stitched, I copied. There were no patterns, diagrams, stitch dictionaries, or schematics in her crochet world. Her hands simply remembered how to make what she wished. Beginning with granny squares, moving on to scarves, flowers, and pineapple doilies, Mom stitched, I copied.

The roles reversed as I picked up techniques and skills she had never experienced. It became my turn to stitch while Mom copied. She was completely taken by the new novelty yarns at the time, and as soon as I showed her how to work with them and gave her a few original samples, she obsessively cranked out furry, glittery, or wildly colored hats, scarves, and ponchos for herself, family, and friends. Without exaggeration, Mom has crocheted enough of these objects so that she could wear a different one every day for a year.

I had stumbled onto the perfect way to broaden my mom’s crochet horizon and get out of having to crochet things for her friends. Each visit I try to bring a new project, sometimes a prototype of a design that eventually had to be remade for publication, sometimes a piece that’s still in the R&D stage. I know that if she sees it she can crochet it. The tactic has worked well, up to a point. In my new book, Crochet Lace Innovations, I explore alternate crochet techniques, broomstick, Tunisian, and hairpin lace and nuances of seamless garment shaping that she won’t be able to master by copying samples. Here we go again.

“Oh, this one is really, really beautiful! I bet my friends will go crazy if I wear it.”

When I started designing, neither of us could fit into the tiny-sized garment samples required for publication. But since then we’ve both dropped a few pounds. In Mom’s case, she has gradually lost weight as she balances her diabetes. In my case, since she avoids stockpiling candy, there’s no more Mom chocolate to take home. It’s a strange win-win situation. The point is, both of us can now squeeze into quite a number of design prototypes and original samples, and it’s a happy little battle to see which one of us gets which garments. So look closely under the jacket and you’ll see that Mom is wearing a pink prototype of the Isabeau top that graces the cover of my new book.

Her friends did go crazy!

Contact: Anna Mintz / Clarkson Potter Publicity

212-572-6186/amintz@randomhouse.com

APRON ANXIETY

My Messy Affairs In and Out of the Kitchen

 by Alyssa Shelasky 

 “Hot sex, looking good, scoring journalistic triumphs . . . nothing made Alyssa love herself enough until she learned to cook. There’s a racy plot and a surprising moral in this intimate and delicious book.” 
—GAEL GREENE, creator of Insatiable-Critic.com and author of Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess

“Part memoir, part cookbook, Alyssa’s writing is honest, witty, and disarming—a compelling journey of a girl becoming her own woman. Though she experiences love and loss, she finds her sweetest days where she least expects it—within herself in the kitchen. With that, Alyssa encourages even the most kitchen phobic to turn on the oven.” 
—DANYELLE FREEMAN, founder of RestaurantGirl.com and author of Try This: Traveling the Globe Without Leaving the Table

“Amusing, compassionate story of love among the pots and pans.”
—Kirkus Reviews

Quintessential city girl Alyssa Shelasky, in her early thirties and a former celebrity reporter and popular writer of the blog ApronAnxiety.com, is not shy. So when she moved from New York City to Washington, DC, to be with her new love, a sexy chef well-known for his success on television, she was not expecting loneliness and despair.  But what followed was no fairy tale: chef hours are tough on a relationship, the food scene deeply intimidated the lifelong kitchen-phobe, and Alyssa’s escalating isolation and loss of confidence took an ugly toll.  Apron Anxiety (A Three Rivers Press Paperback Original; May 22, 2012) is Shelasky’s hilarious and heartfelt story of reluctantly learning to cook as a final attempt to find happiness and balance in an unfamiliar setting.

Sick of being a buzzkill and a culinary wallflower, while constantly surrounded by some of the biggest names in the restaurant industry, Alyssa decided to give cooking a shot. Apron Anxiety documents her journey from nearly burning down the house to creating dazzling dinner parties for old friends, new friends, boyfriends, exes, and everything in between. Along the way, Alyssa takes us on a wild ride through her childhood in western Massachusetts; her twenties in Manhattan; and dashing around DC, Los Angeles, and Brooklyn. Gradually, she discovers a simple style around the stove, and with it a steady calm. Her creative spirit is reignited, and most important, she experiences the return of her sense of self, independence, and life’s simple pleasures.

Apron Anxiety is a memoir peppered with 30 recipes (including humorously named but nonetheless delicious dishes like Rainy Day Rigatoni and Cherry Crumble for Those Who Crumble Too Easily) about the ups and downs of love, the importance of friends and family, learning to cook, and entering the world of food full throttle. Readers will delight in Alyssa’s infectious voice as she dishes on everything from her early days of hard partying, to the unstoppable allure of the very sexy chef scene, to the unexpected inner calm of tying on an apron. With a perspective that is funny, sane, and appealing to both food lovers and the kitchen-challenged alike, Apron Anxiety will speak to any reader who aspires to a life well-seasoned.

#             #             #

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

ALYSSA SHELASKY is the New York editor of Grub Street at New York magazine, as well as the creator of the blog Apron Anxiety (ApronAnxiety.com). She has written for numerous publications including People, Us Weekly, Hamptons Style, Gotham, Self, Blackbook, TV Guide, the New York Post, CBS’s Watch magazine, and Glamour.

#             #             #

APRON ANXIETY

My Messy Affairs In and Out of the Kitchen

by Alyssa Shelasky

A Three Rivers Press Trade Paperback Original

May 22, 2012

272 pages / 978-0-307-95214-1 / $14.00

Contact: Anna Mintz/Clarkson Potter Publicity

        212-572-6186/amintz@randomhouse.com    

“Pasanella’s clear-eyed memoir is a joy to read from beginning to end.” —Kirkus Reviews

UNCORKED  

My Journey Through the Crazy World of Wine 

By Marco Pasanella 

“Overflowing with stories of local downtown Manhattan history and politics intermingled with charming recollections of the author’s time in Italy, his narrative is far more than a retrospective on building a wine shop business, which should appeal to anyone interested in the history and personality of New York, regardless of their opinion on wine or retail. . . . In the end, Pasanella conveys the real work behind making pipe dreams come true.” —Publishers Weekly  

Uncorked: My Journey Through the Crazy World of Wine (Clarkson Potter; on sale May 22, 2012) by Marco Pasanella is the enchanting and sometimes comical story of one man who decided, in his early forties, to change his life by opening a wineshop—an act that many dream about but few actually carry out. As Kitchen Confidential and Waiter Rant explored the front and back of the house at restaurants, Uncorked offers a peek behind the curtain of the wine world.

Pasanella takes the reader into the underbelly of his store and the industry, which is steeped in history yet fanatical about technology and brimming with larger-than-life personalities—from eccentric wine producers and buxom sales reps to swaggering distributors and wheeler-dealer attorneys. Infused with rich details of his historic waterfront building in New York City and his sojourns to Tuscany, Pasanella’s memoir takes readers on a fascinating journey through the birth, evolution, and daily life of Pasanella and Son Vintners.

Featuring ten rustic recipes interspersed throughout the story, and a handy appendix that sheds light on wine misconceptions, strange wine lingo, tasting tips, toasts, and more, Uncorked will captivate wine lovers and neophytes alike.

# # #

“Facing the East River, not far from the amazing Brooklyn Bridge, is one of New York’s most unique wine stores. Pasanella & Son is the charming and evocative brainchild of Marco Pasanella. Marco is extremely knowledgeable about wines: how they taste, how they are made, and how they are bottled. The story he tells in Uncorked is much more than what wine to pair with what, and everyone interested in enjoying an excellent glass of wine should read his book.” —Martha Stewart

“In this memoir about family, love, wine, and Italy, Marco shares how he reinvented his life—from designer to wineshop owner—and discovered what’s really important. The book is filled with portraits of the wild and crazy characters you find in the food and wine business. It’s also filled with real wisdom. If you’ve ever thought about changing course and taking a big leap to follow your passion, then Uncorked is a must-read.” —Rocco DiSpirito, author of Now Eat This!

MARCO PASANELLA is the proprietor of Pasanella and Son Vintners, which opened in the South Street Seaport area of Manhattan in 2005. The shop has been included in top-ten lists in New York magazine and the Village Voice, and has received praise in Food & Wine, Elle, and Blueprint. Previously Pasanella designed hotels, including the Maritime in New York, and his furniture and houseware designs are on display at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. A graduate of Yale University, he taught for thirteen years at the Parsons School of Design. A former columnist for the New York Times, he has also been featured in and has written for numerous publications, including Esquire, GQ, Vogue, and Vanity Fair.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Uncorked: My Journey Through the Crazy World of Wine by Marco Pasanella

Clarkson Potter/Publishers

On Sale May 22, 2012 • ISBN 978-0-307-71984-3 • Price: $24

Also available as an ebook

For more information on the book, please contact:

Anna Mintz, Clarkson Potter Publicity, at 212-572-6186 or amintz@randomhouse.com.

www.PasanellaAndSon.com

 FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Annsley Rosner/Crown

212/782-9740; arosner@randomhouse.com

Hilsinger-Mendelson East

212/725-7707

Sandi Mendelson; smendelson@hmieast.com

Cathy Lee Gruhn; cgruhn@hmieast.com

“There is a whole new way to age. I’m sixty-five and I feel great. I’m happy, healthy, I have energy, and my bones are strong. I have perfect memory, and best of all, I have a sex drive!”

—Suzanne Somers

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Sexy Forever

BOMBSHELL

Explosive Medical Secrets That Will Redefine Aging

 by Suzanne Somers

Last August, Suzanne Somers, one of America’s most informed and passionate health care advocates and a breast cancer survivor, became the first woman in America to have a breast regrown using her own stem cells in a new clinical trial. In her series of New York Times bestsellers, she has underscored the multiple and continually emerging benefits of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to turn back the clock on aging.

Now, in her groundbreaking new book, BOMBSHELL: Explosive Medical Secrets That Will Redefine Aging (Crown Archetype; May 8, 2012; $26.00 hardcover), Suzanne Somers redefines aging as we know it. Blasting beyond anti-aging, she takes us to the next step, revealing a brand-new approach to embracing and enjoying aging.

Suzanne makes aging aspirational, living with great health and great looks, disease-free, and with robust energy. She shares a fresh new plan for aging well. You are never too young or too old to take advantage of these strategies, and one thing is very clear; the old model of a nursing home as the inevitable destination is out, for good.

Suzanne interviews medicine’s best and brightest pioneers to craft a plan that will reshape the way we treat, approach, and think about aging. She discusses how to avoid catastrophic events such as heart attacks, crippling autoimmune diseases, and cancer and how we can revitalize our bodies by rejuvenating our weakest organs and glands. She also discusses telomeres—the little tails located on the ends of each human cell that act as the aging clock for nearly every cell in our bodies—and supplements that may hold the secret to extreme longevity, and more.
In BOMBSHELL, Suzanne talks to cutting-edge physicians about the new choices available and the medical Bombshells that will change our lives, including:

• How stem cell procedures, using one’s own adult stem cells, can be used to prevent disease and even regrow body parts, and how Suzanne’s own breast was regrown after cancer with no implant in the first clinical trial of its kind in the United States;
• Dr. Garry Gordon on the natural, effective nonsurgical alternative to bypass surgery;
• Dr. Michael Galitzer on how to preserve your bones, help your body rebuild its bones, and the vital minerals besides calcium that you need to know about, like the key nutrient vitamin K₂, to protect against deadly soft tissue calcification;
• Dr. Abraham Morgentaler, Harvard Medical School faculty member who turns current medical thinking on its ear, on his groundbreaking use of testosterone for halting and in some cases regressing active prostate cancer;
• Dr. Prudence Hall, renowned gynecologist, on the secrets to stimulating a stalled sex drive and the hormone for men and women that makes orgasms stronger and more frequent throughout life;
• Famed futurist Ray Kurzweil, called “the ultimate thinking machine” by Forbes, on nanobots, blood-cell-size injectable “robots” that are being developed to roam through our bodies, and might turn off a gene that promotes Alzheimer’s, fix the trigger that promotes diabetes, or target cancer stem cells, making these diseases obsolete;
• The new role of non-drug nanotechnology for pain, energy, and detoxification;
• How the “cure” to cancer might be just around the corner in combatting it at the source with injections of human, cancer-resistant white blood cells;
• Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski on how we can keep the genetic switches that protect us from getting cancer turned on;
• How a supplement to regrow telomeres at a cellular level can restore the human body to a younger internal age and reverse signs of aging such as disease, baldness, wrinkles, and loss of hearing and eyesight. And it’s available now!

A must-read for every thinking person from age thirty and up, BOMBSHELL is empowering and game changing. Filled with valuable information you won’t get anywhere else, BOMBSHELL also includes Suzanne’s BOMBSHELL Age Reversal Plan, 18 Age-Reversing Ideas to Consider, and Advanced Age Reversal Techniques. Any one of these techniques will help you live longer and better. With Suzanne Somers’s BOMBSHELL, we can pick the treatments and techniques to begin our youthful journey right now.

BOMBSHELL

Explosive Medical Secrets That Will Redefine Aging

by Suzanne Somers

Crown Archetype * Publication date: May 8, 2012

Price: $26.00 * 368 pages * ISBN 978-0-307-58854-8

Contact: Campbell Wharton

(212) 572-2296; cwharton@randomhouse.com

Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett.

There was no other couple like them.

Finally, Ryan breaks his silence.

This is the highly anticipated memoir that tells

the real love story.

BOTH OF US

My Life with Farrah

By Ryan O’Neal

with Jodee Blanco and Kent Carroll

Ryan O’Neal and Farrah Fawcett drew an unwavering fascination among fans and the press alike for more than three decades. Ryan’s intimate memoir of this passionate love story, BOTH OF US: My Life with Farrah (Crown Archetype, on sale May 1, 2012), tells the true story behind the headlines. Ryan conveys beautifully everything their relationship was— at once exuberant, sad, and timeless, confessing the deepest parts of his heart.

BOTH OF US contains all new stories and intimate details about their three decade courtship, including parenthood, leading up to the tragic diagnosis of Farrah’s cancer. This is the first time Ryan has shared the details of their love story from beginning to end in this compelling and unforgettable fashion. Many of the never-before-seen photographs and diary entries illustrate just how deep their love was and reads almost like a great romance novel and the heartache and inspiration of a true confession.

Ryan begins BOTH OF US as he recalls his first encounter with the bubbly, vivacious Farrah Fawcett when she was still married to Lee Majors. Thus begins the incredible tale as the book reveals:

 - The first few interactions with Farrah while she was still married to Lee Majors made him lovesick; he was instantly struck with “Farrah fever.”

- The real story behind Farrah’s marriage to Lee Majors and why she was desperate to break free.

- As his relationship with Farrah became more serious, Ryan admits to Tatum’s sudden feelings of abandonment.

- How understanding Farrah was when the subject of Ryan’s ex wives and ex girlfriends came up privately and publicly.

- Ryan’s candid thoughts about being in love with one of the most famous women in the world.

- Farrah’s medical maladies (including cysts, sinus infections, and migraines) that may have been missed clues leading up to the diagnosis of her cancer, and what Ryan believed could have accelerated the progression of her disease.

- Farrah’s secret hell during a severe menopause and her valiant attempts to cope.

- The real cause of her erratic behavior on the infamous David Letterman interview (her attempt to do the interview in character as a Playboy bunny to promote her cover backfired).

- The true cause of the Ryan and Farrah split and why the public and the press got it so wrong—like countless other couples, they struggled to communicate and by the time they realized they needed to talk more it was too late.

- Ryan’s surprising conclusion about Farrah’s fidelity—Ryan had doubted her for years, but after her death—when it was too late to apologize—he learned Farrah was never unfaithful to him. 

- The night he wishes he could forget—Farrah walks in on Ryan with a younger woman.

- Ryan’s heartbreaking discovery after Farrah’s death—in the book’s climax, Ryan recalls the day when he found a note Farrah wrote in his journal 14 years ago. Ryan only found this hidden in his journal upon doing research for this book.

- His last memories of Farrah and their touching final goodbye to one another (Ryan stood by her side through grueling treatment).

In addition to deeply personal recollections of his life with Farrah, Ryan also shares engaging stories from Hollywood including:

- The incident at the Russian Tea Room in which Diana Ross, upon seeing her old flame, rushed to the ladies room in tears and refused to leave.

- A memorable day spent with Farrah and Katharine Hepburn.

- His thoughts on working with Stanley Kubrick during the filming of Barry Lyndon.

Written with candor, emotional honesty, and above all deep love for his adored Farrah, BOTH OF US is the moving story of a true Hollywood fairy tale.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ryan O’Neal is an Academy Award-nominated actor, best known for his roles in Love Story, Peyton Place, Barry Lyndon, What’s Up, Doc?, and Paper Moon. Most recently he has appeared on 90210 and has a popular recurring role on Bones. His reality show with his daughter, Ryan and Tatum: The O’Neals, aired its first season on OWN in June 2011

BOTH OF US

My Life with Farrah

By Ryan O’Neal

with Jodee Blanco and Kent Carroll

Published by Crown Archetype 

Also available as an ebook and on Audio

On sale: May 1, 2012

Price: $26.00 * Hardcover * ISBN: 978-0-307-95482-4

www.crownpublishing.com

You might be wondering, what’s the difference between embroidery and cross stitch?

What tools do you need to create crewelwork?

And where does chicken scratch fit in?

Alicia Paulson, author of Embroidery Companion, guides us through this sewn, stitched, and embellished terrain with a handy guide to identifying three of the most popular types of embroidery, with tips on what type of fabrics, threads, and needles to choose for each category of craft.

For even more embroidery inspiration, plus 30 charming projects, pick up Embroidery Companion by Alicia Paulson, and follow her adventures at Posie Gets Cozy.

Decorative Embroidery
Broadly speaking, “decorative” embroidery includes stitches and techniques from a plethora of traditions, and requires transferring a line-art template to the fabric, then stitching either on or within the lines to create a design.

Fabrics: Detailed, delicate designs will show best on high-thread-count, finely woven fabrics; more loosely woven cloths work best with simple, rustic designs. Chicken scratch, known more prettily as snowflaking or Amish lace, is worked on gingham.

Threads: Inexpensive six-strand cotton floss, often just called “embroidery floss,” is widely available in hundreds of beautiful, colorfast shades.

Needles: I almost always find myself happiest with a size 6 crewel needle—you’ll probably find that you’re happy somewhere between 5 and 7, too.

Cross-stitch
As its name suggests, counted cross stitch embroidery uses groups of two straight stitches crossed at right angles and worked over a grid of perfect squares, stitch by stitch, while following a chart that indicates where to place each one.

Fabrics: Evenweave fabrics have an equal number of threads running lengthwise and crosswise, and are available in different “counts.” The count refers to the number of stitches you will get across the space either vertically or horizontally.

Threads: Cross-stitch can be worked in cotton, wool, or silk thread. The number of strands you use is, for the most part, dictated by the fabric thread count.

Needles: Stitching on evenweave fabric calls for large-eyed, blunt-tipped tapestry needles.

Bonus: This tutorial on Posie Gets Cozy will show you exactly how to get started cross-stitching.

Crewelwork
Both charmingly old-fashion, yet modern, crewelwork generally refers to decorative embroidery done using woolen yarn to outline and fill in shapes and designs that have been transferred to linen or wool fabric.

Fabrics: Though crewelwork can be done on any type of fabric, close-woven, heavier fabrics, like linen or woven wools work (and look) best. Wool felt can also work well.

Threads: Crewel wool, a soft, two-ply wool yarn, is widely available in hundreds of gorgeous colors and many subtle shades.

Needles: Sharp-medium-length crewel needles are the best type for crewelwork. I recommend a size 5.

To be entered to win, tell us a crafting memory you share with your mother (or grandmother, or daughter) below. Also, be sure to indicate which item you think she’d like most!

Soakwash and Yarn Kit:
Sure to please any knitter or crocheter, the Soakbox includes one skein of Lorna’s Laces sock yarn to keep crafty moms happily busy as well as soak foot cream to pamper her tootsies. Give to mom—or keep for yourself (We won’t tell)!

Ottlite Lamps:
What better way to tell mom she lights up your life than with an Ottlite Lamp? Ottlites allow crafters to better distinguish colors, reduce glare and eyestrain, and see knitting, sewing, beadwork, reading, or scrapbooking projects much more clearly. It also comes with a special bulb which is built to last for more than 10,000 hours. We have two fabulous Ottlite desk lamps to give away!

A Collection of Fiskars Products:
We love Fiskars scissors, paper punches, and stampers, so we put together a selection of our favorite items that we know will delight any scrapbooker. Snap some photos this Mother’s Day and you’ll make memories that you can preserve beautifully.

Martha Stewart Extravaganza:
Martha can always be counted on for great crafting, decorating, and cooking ideas. Whether your mom loves to craft, cook, or both, we have something for you! We will be giving away a copy of Martha Stewart’s Handmade Holiday Crafts and a copy of her brand new cookbook, Martha’s American Food, to one lucky winner!

Make Mom’s Life Easier!
Let’s face it, moms can always use a little help. Well, we have two items that can do just that! Mommy Money: 60 We O.U. Checks from Your Family will allow you to pay for everything you really want to give mom—a clean house, dinner on the table, clean laundry, and breakfast in bed!

We’re also giving away Mom’s Five-Second Memory Journal, the ideal gift for moms with frantic schedules who don’t want to forget those surprising, wonderful moments that come with being a mother.