Happy Friday everyone; I hope you've been enjoying a great week. It's been a stressful week on my end, so I'm looking forward to taking things down a notch this weekend (starting with a new quilt project Laurel and I are working on together!). Meanwhile, a couple of fun things: First, I weigh in today at the Boston Globe on managing princess obsessions re: the Princess Merida controversy -- come share your thoughts! Second, you definitely should enter to win these organic house cleaning service and Canon DSLR + Epiphanie bag giveaways -- amazing! And now, on to the weekend; here are 23 event picks, lovingly curated for your consideration.

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Posted by Christine Koh on 17 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Indoors; Fun Outdoors; Local

Today, Debbie (also of Two Adopt Two) shares tips for creating waking rituals for kids:

Do your kids wake up cranky? Do they complain about (or sleep through) the alarm? Do your mornings begin with chaos and just get worse? Then consider incorporating a waking ritual into your morning. Just as bedtime rituals can help kids transition to sleep, waking rituals can ease kids into the day. Not long after my husband and I adopted our preschoolers (who, at the time, were just as likely to bite us as hug us) we discovered how important waking rituals were for our kids.

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Posted by Christine Koh on 16 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Development & Behavior

I am, obviously, a big fan of the internet. And while my adventures around the web largely swirl in the domains of writing and online shopping, I'm always super impressed when service-based companies step it up and take advantage of technology to make getting stuff done easier. Such was my experience with Exec Cleaning, an organic house cleaning service that makes it absurdly easy to, well, get your house clean.

Continue reading "Exec to the Rescue (+ An Awesome Giveaway)" »

Posted by Christine Koh on 15 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (14) | Filed in Domestics; Home; Local; Solutions

Today, Paige (also of Mudroom Boston) shares 4 quick steps to, and 5 examples of, easy flower arrangements:

One of my favorite forms of art is floral arranging. It need not be inexpensive and you end up with a beautiful end result really fast. Many people find flower arranging daunting, so they buy a pre-arranged bouquet, pull it out of its cellophane wrapping, and stick it in a vase (and then wonder why it doesn't look quite right!). Today I'm here to help with a super easy how-to prepping and arranging flowers, including five easy flower arrangements.

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Posted by Christine Koh on 14 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Home; Solutions

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. It never fails to amaze me how the simplest things (sleeping in! breakfast in bed! handmade cards! a quick run!) are so rejuvenating; I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Mother's Day. Meanwhile, thanks to everyone who came out for Pivot 3.0 on Friday, don't forget to enter to win this amazing DSLR + bag giveaway, and here's to a fantastic week. Following are some fun event ideas to consider in this week's Weekly Blueprint:

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Posted by Christine Koh on 13 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Indoors; Fun Outdoors; Local

These days, I've been using the word epic with some regularity, there's just been so much good stuff going on! And today, I have something to share that is truly epic in the fun department. I'm teaming up with some wonderful bloggers to offer you an epic May giveaway including a Canon T4i DSLR + a gorgeous Epiphanie Charlotte chevron bag (I have been coveting this puppy), collectively worth ~$1055! Woo hoo!

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Posted by Christine Koh on 10 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (13) | Filed in Fashion; For Mamas & Mamas-to-be; Gadgets; Gifts & Paper; Home

Happy Friday everyone...I hope you're gearing up for a wonderful weekend. I'll be sending virtual hugs and kisses to you all on Mother's Day! But before we get there, I need to say how excited I am about the Pivot 3.0 style event I'm co-hosting tonight and I hope to see you there. Meanwhile, if you're looking for something fun to do this weekend, here are 23 weekend picks, lovingly curated for your consideration.

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Posted by Christine Koh on 10 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Indoors; Fun Outdoors; Local

Today, Priya shares seven fire safety tips for families:

Last month, not long after we had put our kids to bed, all of our fire alarms went off simultaneously without any obvious reason; no one was cooking and we didn't have a fire burning in the fireplace. I reflexively went looking for the trigger, and my husband immediately went upstairs to get the kids. When the episode was over, it occurred to me that Pete and I should devise a fire safety plan, particularly given that we know two families in our own town whose homes were destroyed by fires. Fortunately, our incident was merely a function of alarm malfunction, but it motivated us to get more prepared. I wanted to share our process with you:

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Posted by Christine Koh on 9 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Home; Solutions

Today, Lindsey (also of A Design So Vast) shares four lovely sources for book plates:

I love gifting personalized book plates. Book plates may seem, I realize, old-fashioned, but I adore them. They celebrate reading and speak to a child's deep desire to mark things as their own. My children loved choosing which of their books deserved book plates, and to this day, when I happen upon their book plated copies of Goodnight Moon or Make Way for Ducklings, tears spring to my eyes when I remember their chubby toddler hands smoothing the stickers into the books. The crooked angle at which some of these plates are adhered reminds me of their fierce determination to "do it my own self!"

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Posted by Christine Koh on 8 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (1) | Filed in Books & Entertainment; For Babies & Kids; Gifts & Paper; Home

Despite what the Wall Street Journal might think (or rather, portray for the sake of a traffic spike), mommy blogger conferences like Mom 2.0 are not about sleeping in and draining the minibar. In fact, I slept very little and I'm not even sure whether our room had a minibar. Why? Because instead of sleeping and/or draining the minibar, I spent my time soaking in the incredibly talented and brilliant people who attended this conference. I left with a notebook full of professional (yes, Wall Street Journal, professional) ideas, and five life lessons I wanted to share with all of you; they're relevant for everyone.

Continue reading "Five Life Lessons from Mom 2.0" »

Posted by Christine Koh on 7 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (6) | Filed in Development & Behavior; Family Issues; Mama in the Workplace

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! I was in California Thursday through Sunday for Mom 2.0 Summit and it was an amazing experience for many reasons (I'll be sharing some deep thoughts soon!). Meanwhile, as I sit here sipping coffee and acclimating to East Coast time, I wanted to queue you up for a fantastic week. Here are some fun events to consider in this week's Weekly Blueprint.

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Posted by Christine Koh on 6 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Indoors; Fun Outdoors; Local

Greetings from Laguna Niguel, California! I miss Jon and the girls but also am having a wonderful time here at Mom 2.0 Summit. It's been amazing to take in such a spectacular seascape, connect with old and new friends, and, today, dive into conference programming. But before I get into that, I wanted to share 30 weekend event picks, lovingly curated for your consideration. Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget the sunscreen!

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Posted by Christine Koh on 3 May 2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | Filed in Fun Indoors; Fun Outdoors; Local