What a day! The folks at Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards gave us exclusive all-day, all-evening access of their estate for our magazine. We took full advantage and staged “Casbah Cool,” one of our entertainment features, and “Midsummer Mediterranean Grill,” our main cooking story. Ellie Platis, one of Fogarty’s event managers, was such a doll. Her positive energy and pitch-in attitude helped us feel welcome and the experience enjoyable, even though for us it was quite a work day. (Image by Natalie Wi)

The entire estate…just for us! (Image by Natalie Wi)

We parked by the lily pond with the resident turtle on his floating island! (Image by Natalie Wi)

Jeannie Fraise and Allie Bruch from Lotus Bleu work on styling a modern Moroccan table with a nesting theme. James Burkart is filming their work-in-progress for the video bite in the magazine. (Images by Natalie Wi)

A close up of the table shows the chick vases by Kanick Chung (available through Lotus Bleu) and the flowers by Amy Burke. Don’t the flowers look like whimsical bonnets? One of Thomas Fogarty’s Pinot Noirs is ready to be uncorked. (Image by Natalie Wi)

We walked the grounds, and photographed our blogger “models” throughout the estate. (Images by Natalie Wi)

Inside, the culinary team works on our post-shoot dinner…preparing the recipes that are featured in Midsummer Mediterranean Grill. (Images by James Burkart)

Our models enjoy a glass of wine while awaiting dinner. (Image by Natalie Wi)

The evening concluded with special gifts for everyone! Take a peek at the gifts galore…(Image by Rio Constantini)

A taste of Thomas Fogarty Winery and Vineyards to take home…A bottle of their 2006 Estate Chardonnay (Santa Cruz Mountains).

Brick Monkey, known for their curious and distinctive furniture and accessories, gave everyone a chic ceramic pineapple-leaf candle holder with votive wrapped in their signature packaging.

Diane Phillips of DK Designs made beautiful paperweights…She handcrafted single white gardenias and attached them to antique blue glass made from mason jars by Midwest Finds. (Image by Diane Phillips)

Pamplemousse Patisserie et Cafe shared their French macarons…the best we’ve EVER tasted! (Image by Justin Miel)

SkinSpirit Skincare Clinic & Spa gifted their signature “Bochox,” a box of delicious dark chocolate! (Image by Natalie Wi)

There were not one but two delicious cupcakes to take home from Bebecakes Cupcakery–VaVa Voom (chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate chip/cream cheese filling), and Miss Scarlett (red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting).

Lotus Bleu included sweet felt pouch by the French company, Muskhane. The pouches are eco-friendly, naturally dyed, and made by hand in Nepal.

What a surprise…A Pinkies Nail Salons’ gift card means manis for everyone! (Image by Natalie Wi)

Now, meet the bloggers!

A new issue, a new contest! Announcing the Issue No. 4 2010 Bluebird Bag contest! Win cool stuff for your coop valued at $2,226…Hurry and enter because this bird will fly on October 13, 2010.

Winner takes all…

Handcrafted Flower*Pendant
(Made for Issue 3 front cover)
$1,500
dkdesignshawaii.com

Malibu Wave Quilt (Twin)
(Appears on Issue 4 front cover)
$270
pineconehill.com

Handmade Ling Blue Lucite Ice Bucket
$78
iomoi.com

Five European Pillow Shams
$115
saffronmarigold.com

How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques
by Steven Raichlen
$21
amazon.com

The Green Home: A Sunset Design Guide
by Bridget Biscotti Bradley
$25
amazon.com

Palmetto Pouch
$30
blisslivinghome.com

One Dozen Sweet Sticks™
$22
tastyclouds.com

$100 Gift Certificate
$100
erincondren.com

Wisteria Glass Cup & Carrier
$24
wisteria.com

Chilewich® Basketweave Table Runner
$41
surlatable.com

Check out Nesting Newbies Magazine, Issue No. 4.

Meet the bloggers who spent the afternoon with us at Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards. They helped us out by participating in our photo shoots for Nesting Newbies Magazine, Issue 4. For many, this was the first time meeting face-to-face.

Julia Walsh
CasaSugar

Carleigh Lowe
Remodelista

Lily Gahagan
California Home + Design
7 x 7 Magazine

Jeanine Hays
AphroChic
AphroChicShop

Karen Olivia
Alkemie

Kathryn Hill
Apartment Therapy | The Kitchn

Melissa Davis
Ruby Press

Anne Sage
The City Sage

Emily Goligoski
The San Franista

Jennifer Jones
Niche Interiors

Erin Feher
California Home + Design

Lynn Goldfinger
Paris Hotel Boutique

Rebecca Orlov
loving.living.small
Sweetline Agency
Blog Out Loud

See behind the scenes from our Thomas Fogarty Winery & Vineyards photo shoots.

On Thursday, August 12th, Trove, a furniture and home décor outlet in Berkeley, is celebrating the fabulous John Robshaw’s designs…they have an amazing assortment at Trove and it’s always marked down 50-80%, but the night of the event it will be an additional 15% off!

The store will be transformed into an Indian paradise, there will be yummy bites and drinks, a raffle, and extra discounts on the entire store’s inventory. And, Nesting Newbies’ friends are invited!

If you can make it, please just RSVP to 510-540-0209 and let them know you received your invitation from Nesting Newbies…

Check out the terrific interview with Arlice Nichole of Clutch! We can’t help but particularly LOVE Jeanine’s answer to this question:

Excerpt from clutchonlinemag.com…
Clutch: Speaking of magazines, you landed your first cover with Nesting Newbies! How exciting is that?

Jeanine: Nesting Newbies was another wonderful experience. I can tell you this: the power of Twitter is incredible. I learned about the online magazine via a tweet, and sent them a quick note to let them know I was a Bay Area designer. Soon my husband and I were asked to put together a selection of pillows for their cover shoot. The editors, Jodi Murphy and Lea McIntosh are amazing women who embrace the work of new designers and bloggers. They also invited me to participate in a video shoot that was inside the magazine. It was my first time doing a segment on camera, and I had a wonderful time getting cooking tips from a trained chef and learning what happens in front of and behind the camera. My husband (who is my incredible business partner) also enjoyed the experience. He received his first styling credit as we both helped with the styling of the cover shot.

A behind-the-scenes shot of the team on cover shoot day, sans Jodi who was snapping the image! What a great day…and Jeanine is right, her husband Bryan is incredible…and so is she! Visit her AphroChic blog and AphroChicshop.

The New York Design Center reviewed Nesting Newbies in their recent issue of Array Magazine on page 13. Thank you to the editors and columnist Cathy Whitlock for such rave reviews {we blush}. Notice the cover featuring five design bloggers–Grace Bonney, Jean Lin, Jennifer Boles, Danielle de Vita, and Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan–and a feature story on bloggers as “The New Curators.” So nice to see the NY design center recognize those of us in the new media landscape!

Cathy Whitlock is a blogger too–check out Cinema Style: Design, Inspiration and Trends in the Movies. She also writes for the Huffington Post and is the author of Re-de-sign.  She has a new book coming out in the fall.

Behind-the-Scenes images by Erin DeMartini

Our Nesting Newbies team took over a corner of the San Francisco Room&Board Showroom for our Spring 2010 cover shoot. Our thanks to Michael Gargiulo and Jason Levine for being so generous and to the entire staff for their support!

Bryan Mason is willing to climb the (very) tall ladder to clip on our custom pendant, featuring an explosion of white flowers–handcrafted from soft clay by designer Diane Phillips.

Does Jodi look nervous? By the way, we no sooner got the pendant in place when a woman walked by and asked where could buy it! (Here’s a secret…you might be the one to win it in our Inbe’tweet contest in July…more soon.)

Jeanine Hays from AphroChic Blog and AphroChic Shop came to help us style the bed with some of her modern soulful pillows.

We started with Room&Board’s Wyatt Queen Bed with Low Headboard and added the ANIS duvet from Blissliving Home.

Bryan, Jeanine’s hubby, gets the AphroChic Dreamland Collection pillows plumped and ready to place next.

Jeanine makes sure the pillows are set just right.  We brought in a With-a-Twist table from Brick Monkey for an unexpected twist!

We added the Duralee, Super Bulldog, and AphroChic Mandala pillows to the front.

Photographer Margot Hartford arrives and gets the camera set up and lighting ready to go.

Margot, Lea and Jodi check out the framing. Is everything in the right place?

Our front cover features a decor vignette…Did you notice that there’s always a bird element somewhere in the scene? On the back, we always include Lea in the vignette as Chef Lea is one of our Nesting Newbies brands. Lea’s wearing a bird robe made from a whimsical fabric called “Bird Swing” by Michael Miller Fabrics.

Trying all sorts of positions to get the best image. Gotta have those Charles Chocolates in the scene!

Meet the entire team: Erin DeMartini, Margot Hartford, Lea McIntosh, Bryan Mason, Jeanine Hays…and Jodi Murphy taking the shot (after Margot set it up : ). It’s a wrap!

A new issue, a new contest! Announcing our Spring 2010 Bluebird Bag contest beginning Thursday, May 20 and ending Thursday, June 24. Win cool stuff for your coop. Check it out…check it out!

Blissliving Home ANIS Duvet Set
Includes the queen duvet that appears on our Spring cover plus two matching standard pillow shams.  Notice the embroidered yellow birds : )
Value: $275
BlisslivingHome.com

Dacor Signature Gourmet Cookware Collection
“I’ve used Dacor appliances–convection oven, microwave and warming drawer–for the past ten years. Everything has been first-rate. I didn’t know they made gourmet cookware! I’m jealous of the winner already…” Jodi Murphy
Value: $549
Dacor.com

Body pillow made from Duralee Fabric
This fabric is so Disney Tomorrowland!  We made the pillow for our Spring cover.
Value: $100
Duralee.com

Jo Malone/Farrow & Ball Collector’s Edition Candles
Enjoy (2) Lime Basil & Mandarin candles and their spicy citrus scent.
Value: $130
JoMalone.com

LA Plates Salad/Dessert plates – Set of 4
You get to design these yourself…so many hip patterns and vibrant colors to choose from!
Value: $74
LAPlates.com

Pink Baby Mouse Super Bulldog Pillow
The super cute, Super Bulldog handmade pillow from our Spring cover could be yours.
Value: $55
Pinkbabymouse.etsy.com

Zenatona 5 x 6 Signature Canvas Package
Enjoy the beauty of nature in a Zenatona original photograph hand-stretched on canvas. It comes with an easel and will arrive in an eco-friendly reusable cotton muslin pouch.
Value: $45
Zenatona.etsy.com

Hammocks & High Tea Chevron Drawer Liners
Get some drawer-chic with a set of Chevron liners–a classic print in a classic color. The liners are scented with organic oils and are printed on 100% recycled paper with soy ink.
Value: $25
HammocksandHighTea.com

Filmore Clark: KJ Patterson ArtisanTiles – Set of 9
Filmore Clark–the hippest new Tile showroom–is including 9 of the most beautiful handcrafted tiles…Back them with felt and use as coasters or include them in one of your special DIY projects.
Value: $169
FilmoreClark.com

Sourdough Sleepytime Eye Mask
The popular (and famous) Sleepytime Eye Masks are made of hearty barkcloth on the front and luxurious silk charmeuse on the back. A filling of organic cotton batting and lavender hulls makes for a dreamy night of sleep!
Value: $22
SourdoughSF.com

O Olive Oil Spring & Summer Collections
Spring is in the air…and summer is too! O Olive Oil will send you not one but two of their collections. Spring includes O Ginger Rice Vinegar, O Jalapeño Lime Olive Oil, O Citrus Champagne Vinegar. Summer includes O Champagne Vinegar, O Meyer Lemon Olive Oil, O Pomegranate Vinegar. Both sizzle with sensational culinary opportunities!
Value: $76
OoliveOil.com

“I received the packages today. I positively love everything! It will be wonderful to sit with my husband and have quality time together with a nice meal and a super table. I love the patterns and the colors.” -Kelly

Kelly Ruiz was the first to win our Inbe’tweet–a special contest we run in between our Bluebird Bag Mag Swag Giveaways. Kelly won a romantic table for two, and it looks like she’ll be cooking up something special for her hubby to enjoy. Glad we’re able to help set the mood. ; )

Coming up: A new Bluebird soars any day now…and another Inbe’tweet follows in July!

“How exciting to be the winner of such great swag! There is not one thing that I won’t use or enjoy completely. Thank you so much Nesting Newbies!”

Jenny Durham
spryonthewall

Jenny snapped a quick pic of her with the mag swag goodies she scored from our first Bluebird Bag contest.  Diane Phillips is busy making her a custom clay floral arrangement inspired by Jenny’s bridal bouquet…another prize in the Bluebird Bag.

Get ready, because our Spring Bluebird Bag will be perching here soon!  Will you be the next lucky bird?