Hello everyone!

Spring has finally come to the Pacific Northwest. To celebrate the sunshine, I'm sending you a favorite photograph from my very own yard. To the right is my driveway, full of flowering plum trees.

The good news is that it's stunningly beautiful this time of year--the bad news is that it turns out I'm allergic to these very same gorgeous trees. I guess it's sort of like wearing high heels to a cocktail party--sometimes you just have to pay the price for beauty. For me, that price is sneezing. :)

Here are some of my favorite signs of spring: my plum trees, the first green bulb shoots peeking up from the rich, dark earth, robins, the frogs chirping in my pond, pink lillies of the valley...and the Oscars.

You know me, I'm a popular culture junkie. I love books, tv, movies, and music. All of it speaks to me when it's done well, and the Oscars are the pinnacle of pop culture. Every year, I have a party with my closest girlfriends. We do what a lot of you probably do--we critique the dresses, the make up, the jewelry. We listen to every word and cry at an acceptace speech every year. I love every moment. This year, here are my favorites: I LOVED Jeff Bridges--the big Lebowski and Starman--finally taking home the golden statue. I LOVED Sandra Bullock for the same reasons that you all did--she seems to be a gracious, intelligent, funny, talented, down-to earth woman. But what I really love is that, after all these years and all these fab films, she was an underdog. Many of us who write novels for women about women know what it's like to be taken less seriously. So I say, go Sandra! Win for every woman who was not taken seriously enough. Also, I love any woman who can't avoid crying when she mentions her mother...

Gotta love Kathryn Bigelow, too! I've loved her since Point Break. And we love to see a woman finally win--and for a "guys" film. Woo hoo!

What were your favorite Oscar moments?

And now that the Oscars are over, I'm back to focusing almost entirely on Lost. I'm obsessed, what can I say? I'm also watching American Idol, as usual. What do you all think of Ellen?

Thanks to all of you for your support of Winter Garden. Already, it's success has been AMAZING. It's currently on it's fifth week on the NYT list. Honestly, I can't believe, and I am so incredibly grateful. What else have you all been reading? I'm still reading City of Bones and looking forward to Heart of the Matter by Emily Giffin. But I'm looking forward to spring in Hawaii, and I totally need some book recommendations, so let me know!

Aloha for now--

Kristin