• Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton – What could be better than a great big hug in book form? It’s the perfect love letter from parent to child.

• Beautiful Oops by Barney Saltzberg – A sweet book with a powerful message: When you make a mistake, think of it as an opportunity to make something beautiful!

• Gallop by Rufus Butler Seder – Every turn of the page brings a new animal to life: a horse in full gallop, a turtle swimming, an eagle soaring. It’s impossible not to flip the pages again and again!

• Indestructibles - Beautifully illustrated books that babies can really sink their teeth into! They’re waterproof, tear-proof–baby-proof!–and truly impossible to destroy. (Trust us, we’ve tried.)

• What to Expect the First Year by Heidi Murkoff – Why not get something for the new mama, too? This book has absolutely everything parents needs to know about their baby’s first year from one of the most trusted names in pregnancy.

(Click the flyer below or right here for a larger version.)

Sophie Blackall is an illustrator and author who lives in Brooklyn. Her latest book is Missed Connections, in which she illustrated the most intriguing “missed connections” listings that she found on Craigslist.

P.S. Hey commuters: Have you seen Sophie’s beautiful art in the subways yet?

While it doesn’t matter what you bring—beer, wings, Chinese food…all will suffice—there is one satisfying staple that will prevent you being “that guest”: 7-layer bean dip. But before you dig up that old recipe you learned in college, check out this new one below, courtesy of Workman’s newest cookbook Bean by Bean by Crescent Dragonwagon.  Go ahead! It’s what the courteous Super Bowl party guest would do.

7-Layer Tex-Mex Mountain

• 3 to 4 soft-ripe Hass avocados, peeled and pitted
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 bunches of scallions, derooted, whites and about 3 inches of  green chopped
• 1 bunch of fresh cilantro, well rinsed, stemmed, and finely chopped
• 2 to 3 tablespoons sliced pickled jalapenos, minced
• 2 to 2 ½ cups refried beans, either homemade or canned
• 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded sharp cheese, preferably a combination of Monterey Jack and Cheddar
• 3 large tomatoes, stemmed and finely chopped
• 1 ½ cups sour cream or thick, full-fat unsweetened plain yogurt (Greek-style is ideal here)
• 1 cup sliced California black olives, drained
• A few large red-leaf lettuce leaves (optional)
• Red, yellow, and/or blue tortilla chips, for serving

1. Place the avocados, lemon juice, and salt in a medium size bowl and coarsely mash together with a fork. Set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the scallions, cilantro, and minced jalapeno. Set aside.
3. Spread the refried beans on the bottom of a glass pie pan. Spread the avocado mixture on top, then the scallion mixture, then the cheese and then the tomatoes. Cap the mountain with the sour cream or yogurt, and lastly, sprinkle with the circle of black olives. If you like, poke a few lettuce leaves around the mountain’s base to frame it decoratively.
4. Place the tortilla chips in a bowl (or separate bowls, by color) alongside.

Serves 8 to 10 as an appetizer.

Zach was selected as a winner of the 2012 365 Cats Page-a-Day Calendar, but by the time his owners were notified last fall, he had gone missing from their yard. Happily, after seeing a picture of Zach in an article celebrating his appearance in the calendar, a neighbor realized that the cat she’d been feeding for months was a certified cat celebrity! She reached out to the owners, and the happy family has since been reunited. Hopefully now Zach is back for good.

Zach's photo appears on Nov. 9 of the 2012 "365 Cats" calendar.

Pharaoh Thoth Amon selects a giant cake as his unsuspecting party snack....er, date.

Scorpion Robot prefers to party in a too-large, seasonally-inappropriate hat.

And Wingy Wingy takes a joy ride on a private jet with her new fiend.

............

……What? Why the intense stares, little monsters? Oh! Presents? Fine.

How about two Valentine’s Day Papertoy Monsters: “Be Mine” Cupid and Monster Mutant Cupid?

Or the Super Bowl Papertoy Monsters, the SuperBowl Ghouls?

Maybe a creepy little bloodsucker, Li’l Vamp?

Or one of three Papertoy Monsters masks?

Want to join in on the Papertoy Monsters conversation? Check us out on twitter (@PapertoyMonster) or Facebook.

Until next year, my fiendish friends, keep on partying like true party monsters.

And now, the very first Pitchapalooza winners have been featured in the New York Times. Ayesha Mattu and Nura Maznavi’s book, Love, InshAllah: The Secret Love Lives of Muslim American Women, is a collection of true stories about American Muslim women’s experiences with dating, love, and sex. An inspired idea and pitch that has become an inspirational anthology, this is a book that Arielle and David are proud to have helped launch.

For further reading and viewing, check out the links below.

New York Times article on Love, InshAllah

New York Times article on Pitchapalooza

Pitchapalooza trailer

Pitchapalooza on NBC

Click here to view the embedded video.

For more charming stories of unusual animal pairings, pick up a copy of Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer S. Holland.

Toronto’s Type Books has made a charming stop-motion video of a world where books wake up after dark. The video reminds us that books have personalities — some sweet, some mischievous. And you won’t know until you scoop one up and take it home.

I caught a glimpse of Algonquin’s Exley. Can you spot any of your favorites?

Click here to view the embedded video.

I was so, so, so wrong.

Below are some behind the scenes snaps from our very first 365 Hats Picture-a-Day Calendar photo shoot. Was it a lot of work? Yes. Was it insanely glamorous and high fashion? Double yes. Did it make me wish we lived in an age where hats were an everyday kind of thing? Uh…YEAH. I’m hoping this calendar turns the fashion tide in my favor because today I saw a few chapeaus that are crying to be worn. By me. At work. Every day.

It all starts with a bulletin board and a vision.

Each hat required different hair and make-up. It was amazing to see how something as simple as a change of lip color could transform an entire look.  Below, Gabriella (left) gets a marcel wave while Susie gets prepped for another hat.

We spent a lot of time pairing the hats with the right model: Not everyone can rock a vintage sequined coolie. Jessica (below) managed it pretty much better than anyone. Actually, she looked so amazing in it, she kind of ruined it for those of us who thought they’d found their new “going out” look.

And here’s Natalia in a showstopper of a hat.  Those are feathers. REAL feathers. (Superstar stylists Prissy, left, and Amy work their  magic.)

I know 2012 is only 10 days old, but unless Prince Harry surprises me with tickets to the Oscars, this was by far the most glamorous day of my year.

And if I DO go to the Oscars with Prince Harry, be sure to look for me: I’ll be the one in the sequined coolie.

photo by Flickr user priscillajp

This guest post comes from Patricia Schultz, author of 1000 Places to See Before You Die.

Rio–the very name of the city makes me smile! Aptly named “Cidade Maravilhosa,” the exhilarating Marvelous City is one of the world’s most beautifully situated. From atop Corcovado, under the outstretched arms of the 120-foot-tall Christ the Redeemer statue (who wouldn’t embrace this view?), you can see much of the city’s almost uninterrupted 45-mile strip of white-sand beach (most popular are Ipanema, Copacabana, and Leblon). Cariocas (the residents of Rio) have raised life to a seductive art form–always with a score of samba playing in the background. Don’t even think about coming during hedonistic Carnaval season in February or March if you don’t relish the idea of getting swept up by the world’s largest street party. Ditto for New Year’s Eve, when millions of barefoot revelers dressed in white dance to live samba bands on Copacabana beach under a panoply of fireworks.

Tips:

• The two-stage aerial cable to Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf) is open late: go at dusk and watch the lights flicker on across the waterfront city and see the Christ statue illuminated across the bay.
• Take the old-fashioned tram up to the regentrified, hill-top neighborhood of Santa Teresa for a simple meal in a trendy restaurant, then linger in small music venues. Or head to the historic, charmingly shabby neighborhood of Lapa in central Rio, but remember, it doesn’t really get going until after midnight.
• The grand Copacabana Palace was inspired by the old waterfront hotels of the French Riviera and today hosts Carnaval’s most exclusive ball. Come any day for people watching over a potent but refreshing caipirinha, the national drink.

For more tips from a consummate world traveler, check out 1000 Places to See Before You Die and 1000places.com!