A New Orleans interior designer, Valorie Hart presents us with today's Louisiana homes: the feel of southern hospitality married with a look of contemporary chic. Will appeal to those aspiring to restore and redecorate their living space to make it more personal and inviting, looking to combine traditional décor with modern flair. Experience the joy of décor and design, restoration and rebirth, colour and comfort - all in the enchanting locale of Louisiana. A New Orleans-based interior designer, Valorie Hart expertly leads a private tour of the most fashionable homes in the state. Sara Essex Bradley's photographs document the personality of Louisiana's homes, from the formal Greek revival house to the warm Creole cottage, the pre-Civil war beauty to the kitschy 50s-style ranch, the grand Victorian to the modern urban loft. This is not simply a design inspiration book, but rather a thoughtful compilation of homeowners' personal stories of restoring and redesigning their dream houses - the stories of the "house-proud." In addition to Debra Shriver's foreword, Hart gives her creative expertise on repurposing furniture, displaying art collections, creating extra rooms, and rethinking storage. Hart presents us with today's Louisiana homes: the feel of southern hospitality married with a look of contemporary chic.

Valerie Hart sheds light on overcrowded animal shelters in new coloring book:
Television show host teaches children about shelter animals in CaliClaus and the Christmas Contraption
MOUNT DORA, Fla. Valerie Hart, author of The New Tradition Cookbook and The Bounty of Central Florida, has been a community activist and food and travel journalist for 35 years. Her 10-year popular television show, The Back of the House, featured chef-owners of independent restaurants in their kitchens. In her new coloring book, CaliClaus and the Christmas Contraption: A magical cat finds homes for strays on Christmas Eve (published by AuthorHouse), Hart s entertaining story of a magical cat and her team of pedigree felines, brings awareness to the plight facing animals in overcrowded shelters.
CaliClaus has special plans for this Christmas. With her team of eight felines, she rescues 200 cats and six dozen kittens from a local shelter. The contraption they have built from wooden planks and pieces of a wire fence is just big enough to hold all the cats as well as the food and supplies they have stockpiled. They round up eight neighborhood dogs and attach them with ropes. Then she taps the dogs with her magical claw and, with a different member of her team riding on each of the dogs, they fasten their helmets and, with her in the lead on a borrowed Harley motorcycle, the contraption rises in the air to fly gifts of love to deserving homes.
The young reader - or listener - will be enthralled with this cat that performs magic and can fly followed by a bunch of dogs pulling her contraption over the rooftops on Christmas Eve, she says. Perhaps the children will convince their parents to visit a shelter in their area to adopt a homeless animal.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, about three to four million cats and dogs are euthanized each year because of overcrowded shelters. Hart hopes her book will not only be a fun read for children, but raise awareness to this issue and empower readers to adopt. She has dedicated this coloring book where children can color the illustrations to the animal shelters that do not euthanize cats and dogs, and to the many rescue groups who find homes for them. It is especially dedicated to her daughter, Katie, whose Hart s Last Chance Ranch gives new life to cats the local shelters cannot provide for.
Hart invites readers to visit her at www.cookingandtips.com."

CaliClaus and the Christmas Contraption Heads the list of four delightful Christmas storiesMOUNT DORA, Fla. - Valerie Hart, author of "The New Tradition Cookbook" and "The Bounty of Central Florida," Her new book for children and adults incorporates four delightful Christmas stories, with the title, CaliClaus and the Christmas Contraption (published by AuthorHouse).

Hart's entertaining story of a magical cat and her team of pedigree felines centers on the plight facing animals in overcrowded shelters. With her team of eight felines, she rescues two hundred cats and six dozen kittens from a local shelter. The contraption they have built from wooden planks and pieces of a wire fence is just big enough to hold all the cats as well as the food and supplies they have stockpiled. They round up eight neighborhood dogs and attach them with ropes. Then she taps the dogs with her magical claw and, with a different member of her team riding on each of the dogs, they fasten their helmets and, with her in the lead on a "borrowed" Harley motorcycle, the contraption rises in the air to fly gifts of love to deserving homes."The reader or listener (age 8 and older) will be enthralled with this cat that performs magic and can fly followed by a bunch of dogs pulling her contraption over the rooftops on Christmas Eve," she says. "Perhaps the children will convince their parents to visit a shelter in their area to adopt a homeless animal."

The second story, Peter Penguin Goes Home is equally delightful and light-hearted. Mollie and Maxie Mouse, Chuckie Chipmunk, Bubba Bunny Rabbit, and Robbie Raccoon find Santa on Christmas Eve to return Peter Penguin who has been with them since he sneaked into Santa's sleigh last Christmas and got lost. Joey's Duck is a story about a boy who takes - and returns - a toy duck from his neighbor's bicycle basket. And, Sakie's Adventure in Wonderland is a feline spoof on Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. All four stories are illustrated in color.

Hart invites readers to visit her at www.cookingandtips.com.