Life from Scratch

Vanessa Lachey, a television host and actress who is a mother of three and wife to singer Nick Lachey, is open about her home life, which she describes as far from polished. She grew up without inherited family rituals. Her mother left when Vanessa was nine, so when she started her own household she had to invent the celebrations and milestones her children would come to expect.

This book gathers the recipes, party ideas, and parenting advice she developed along the way. It is organized by season and offers dishes and celebration ideas for each time of year, along with holiday shortcuts, birthday traditions, and date night suggestions. Among the highlights are an annual gift exchange she keeps with her closest girlfriends, the date night routine she and her husband swear by, and her recipe for "authentic" Chicken Adobo, which she serves to family and friends.

Written as a year-round guide, the book is aimed at families who build their own customs rather than following a conventional pattern. It encourages readers to shape each season and every special moment in their own way.