Rosanna Bowles Brings It Home

March 23, 2010

On the first day of March, we trotted down to the ever-charming Boat Street Café for the official book launch of Seattle author and lifestyle maven Rosanna Bowles’s new book, “Coming Home: A Seasonal Guide to Creating Family Traditions with More Than 50 Recipes” (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $27.50).

While the Marco de Carvalho trio played softly in one corner, natty men in striped shirts, bowties, khakis, and navy blazers mingled with well-coiffed women in flowered dresses and flats.

Candlelight bathed the cream-colored walls, while Asian parasols floated upside down from the rustic wooden rafters. Blackboards scrawled with the restaurant’s daily specials also featured a portrait of Boat Street owner Renée Erickson’s cute doggie-dog.

Once the crowd quieted down, Rosanna thanked her daughter, Howard Schultz (yes, THE Howard Schultz of Starbucks fame, a close friend), John Granen (the photographer who followed her all over the world taking pictures of her  for the book), Dr. Pepper Schwartz (well-known sociologist and Rosanna’s agent), but most of all her mother.

“My mother, who is no longer with us, was my muse and role model and the love of my life,” she said. “All I am doing is passing along her legacy to you.”

Rosanna read the introduction to her book, in which she urges us to “re-establish traditions, incorporate simple pleasures into our daily lives, and to celebrate life’s small moments.”

I smiled once I returned home, opened the lovely hardcover tome, and read the words she’d inscribed in flowing script: “Come Home! Rosanna.”

Here are some shots from Rosanna’s big book-launch party.

Rosanna\'s Reading

Rosanna reading from her new book to the rapt crowd.

Rosanna\'s Food Spread

A luxurious spread with recipes from the book.

Rosanna\'s Book Launch Crowd

Par-tay on!

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment