Give the Gift of Dignity. And a Gorgeous Scarf Too.
One of the most beautiful things about the online space is how incredibly nimble people can be to make awesome things happen. In October when I traveled to Ethiopia as part of the ONE Moms delegation, our team created such an online stir about fashionABLE that they were able to create three new jobs. This past winter, fellow Ethiopia companion and dear friend Gabrielle Blair, of Design Mom and Alt Summit, worked with ONE and fashionABLE to challenge the Alt community to design an exclusive ONE/fashionABLE Mother's Day scarf. And today the beautiful Genet scarf is available for purchase (with free shipping today and tomorrow).
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Happy Friday everyone -- I hope you're all bundled up and cozy! We managed to get out for a family walk to the market this morning and now are hunkered in. Regarding this weekend, as of yesterday these listings were in go mode, but please click through closer in to check on cancellations or revised hours. Meanwhile, here are 
Happy Monday everyone -- I hope you had a wonderful weekend! I will admit to being somewhat oblivious to the groundhog and Superbowl oriented elements of the weekend. Instead, there was a lot of toddler chasing and care (Vi's milk-related rash is finally dissipating...hooray!), household puttering and decluttering, and I also did something I've been wanting to do for a long time: hosted a delightful get together for the Boston Mamas contributing writers. I'm excited to get back to work today and hope you all have a fantastic week. Here are some fun event ideas to consider in this week's 
Hello folks, I hope you're enjoying a wonderful, windy weekend. I'm struggling to shake the dreaded sore throat, but otherwise it's been a lovely weekend here! Given that tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and many of you will be off with your kids, I wanted to share the 
I love sending and receiving holiday cards. And since becoming a parent, I have fully embraced that it doesn't really matter when you send them -- the point is to reconnect in a way that matters to you whenever you have the chance to do it. (For example, one year we sent our holiday greetings in March...we had many people tell us they loved receiving cards off peak season!) As has become the norm, my holiday cards did not make it out before Christmas (the last batch is going out in the mail today), and it was so delightful to create them and even 
I'm so proud to work with the American Cancer Society and it was super fun to put together 
Today, 
Hello everyone, what a surreal few days it has been. My heart is heavy for the Newtown, CT community, and the ripple effect clearly has been wide. I have mixed emotions about the responses I've seen to this tragedy and I'm not sure I can articulate them all. So for now, I will simply say that I'm sending healing mojo into the universe for everyone and hope we can all find meaning in this that will help us move forward and also honor the spirit of the victims. And now I will return to business and share some event ideas to consider via this week's 
Happy Friday everyone -- yay for the upcoming weekend! Before I launch into the event roundup, I wanted to encourage you all to check out the posts Asha and I have been writing for 
For me, part of 
Today, 
Happy Monday everyone -- I hope you had a great weekend! This was an unusually busy weekend for us, which Jon and I kicked off by attending the 
Happy Friday everyone! The 
Happy Monday everyone -- I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Laurel, Violet, and I had a lovely girls day on Saturday (for the record, the easiness and affordability of Trader Joe's gingerbread house kits was perfect...you should have seen Vi's face when she discovered that the icing was not just glue!) and yesterday Laurel and I enjoyed a wonderful outing to see 
Happy Friday everyone! December is tomorrow, can you believe it? I can't quite gear myself up to decorate immediately after Thanksgiving, but December 1 officially feels festive to me. Laurel, Violet, and I are having a girls day tomorrow and I'm getting excited (Laurel is out of her mind excited...) to hang stockings, decorate a little, build gingerbread houses, and perhaps do a little shopping to support local businesses. Yay! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. There's lots to do in and around town; here are 34 picks (my biggest roundup ever, I think!) for your consideration:
Given my ever present desire to declutter (particularly around this time of year), I'm a huge fan of experiential gifts. And I've found that experiential gifts are particularly awesome for kids; they negate said clutter, offer an opportunity for togetherness, create lasting memories (Laurel's most vivid gift memories are shows she has attended), and can inspire new or fuel existing interests. Not surprisingly then, I'm super excited that the 
Today, 
Today, Hillary of 
Today, Jane (also of 
Happy Friday everyone -- are you ready for a spooky weekend? If you're looking to get some extra mileage out of this year's costume before the 31st, I've rounded up a bunch of Halloween (and other!) events going on this weekend. (Laurel is super excited to test drive her vampire costume this afternoon at our town center trick or treat!) I'd love to see your kids' costumes this year -- feel free to upload your photos to the 
If you've been trying to find less-bad-for-you candy to fill your Halloween bowl (or less-bad-for-you treats for your own stash), here's a new brand that Jon, Laurel, and I dig. I first tried 
Today, 
Happy Friday everyone! I hope you have a lovely weekend ahead -- if you observe Easter and/or Passover, I hope your reflections and celebrations are wonderful. I am off with Laurel today and she loves all things holiday projects so we have a 
Today, 
Wow, what a weekend. Poor Vi has been suffering since Wednesday and we're still not out of the woods. It's been a challenging several days, but also included 
Today, 
Happy February! While I don't pay much attention to Valentine's Day from a commercial standpoint -- Jon and I don't exchange gifts -- the day does offer a fun inspiration point for crafts and food around our house. (Plus, I love the colors red and pink!) As I've mentioned before, I adore 
Today, 
Happy Friday! I hope you're looking forward to a lovely long weekend. Here are 12 picks that caught my eye. And stay tuned -- this weekend I'll post some ideas for fun, creative, and educational ways to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at home.
Hello folks! I'm currently digging out after a few days away on a press trip (more to come on that front in the next week or two) and hope you had a spectacular weekend! Meanwhile, here are some handy/fun ideas to consider in this week's 
Hello everyone! I'm soon to depart for a press trip to explore a (potentially) family friendly travel destination (hopefully I'll have excellent things to share with you in the next week or so!) so I wanted to leave you with this roundup of 13 fun weekend picks to consider:
Every holiday season since 
If the number of hours I used to spend polishing musical theatre dance numbers and color guard routines is an indication, I clearly have a thing for organized spectacle. And it arguably doesn't get more organized or spectacular than a blinged out kick line. The 
I can hardly believe I'm writing this, but Happy December everyone! There's so much great stuff on tap home and work-wise this month; I hope you're finding the same! Meanwhile, if you're looking for a Santa adventure that extends beyond the local mall, the kind folks at Spirit of Boston offered me a 4-pack of 
Per my 
Today's 
What a fun episode of Life.Style this week! I chatted about 
Hooray for rabbits! And you can celebrate them in fine fashion this weekend at the 
In contrast to Jon and my low key approach, Laurel is totally cranked up about celebrating Valentine's Day. If you're in a similar boat, and are looking for a family-friendly Valentine's outing, what about the 
As regular readers know, Laurel adores crafts. She also adores holidays. In fact, one of the unexpectedly excellent qualities of the potted Christmas tree I pushed for this year (we plan on planting the tree come spring) is that once we took down the Christmas decorations, Laurel realized she had a blank canvas for...you guessed it...making it a Valentine's Day tree. (Actually, she first suggested creating a Martin Luther King Day tree except it took us too long to remove the Christmas decorations.)
So fitting for the holiday season, 
Wow, I learned so much via my amazing guests on 
If you didn't have a chance to watch 
Last week I had the pleasure of being in on a joint blogger interview with the talented (and adorable) 
If you didn't have a chance to watch 
I'm not sure what my problem is, but I'm having the hardest time wrapping my brain around the fact that Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday!) is next week. If you also need help getting in the holiday spirit, and/or want to pick up some awesome tips and inspiration, tune in to 
Hi folks, if you missed 
Finally, Halloween is almost here! And if your kids are looking for extra places to wear that costume, consider (in addition to a few 
I'm super excited about tomorrow's episode of 
Last year, I loved all of the suggestions that rolled in when I queried about 
Wow, wow, wow. I had such a fun time launching 
If Laurel could wear a costume every day, she probably would. Barring that, there are plenty of opportunities to get into the Halloween spirit a week in advance. In addition to a few 
My dad used to tell me that I should be a lawyer, diplomat, or talk show host since, well, I love to talk with people. And as it turns out, tomorrow I'll take a step closer to the talk show host thing. I'm thrilled to announce that starting tomorrow, I'll host a weekly live talk video show (like talk radio, but streaming live on the web...apparently you can also tune in via iPhone or iPad) called 
What a relief it was to finally see the sun yesterday, and how awesome that we'll see it all (long) weekend long! Here are some events that warrant being on your radar: Immerse yourself in music and culture at the 
I'm hoping to take it easy this long weekend, save a little household puttering (the floors are sticky and the weeds abound), but here a few leads for Memorial Day fun that are worth considering. If your kid loves tricks as much as Laurel does, head to the 
Today's 
Here's a roundup of inspiration as you plan for Easter and Passover. At Make & Takes, I love the 
If your kids are eager to get the Easter party started early, there are plenty of eggs to be hunted for this weekend in Massachusetts. Consider the 
Love a good parade? Tomorrow you can enjoy the Year of the Tiger festivities at the Chinatown 
Today, parent educator 
Though we’re very crafty at home, I love when Laurel comes home with new ideas from her art classes at school. And last week I was blown away by the awesomeness of this rosebud Valentine project. These Valentines are a tad time consuming if you make the hearts as big as Laurel did (about ¾ of a sheet of paper) so she’s just making a few for some special sweethearts. Alternatively, you could make them smaller (perhaps cutting 8.5 x 11” sheets of paper into four equal pieces and cutting hearts from those rectangles). The effect will still be spectacularly heartfelt. Here’s the how-to:
As you may have gathered from 
As a 
On Monday, enjoy family friendly activities in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the: 
New Year’s celebrations take on a different flavor with kids, and we’re fortunate to have a number of family friendly celebrations in the works in and around Boston. Consider these city celebrations -- 
Today, 
I adore Gabrielle Blair; I first met her at the inaugural 
For the last several years my less is more mantra has never rang truer than during the holidays, and this mantra has proven particularly practical since becoming a parent. My 
Stephanie Precourt projects remarkable light, positivity, and gratitude; qualities -- along with her lovely writing style and beautiful photography -- that make her blog 
There was a lot of holiday cookie talk on 
My respect, admiration, and affection for Liz Gumbinner and Kristen Chase of 
I feel as if I've known Kristin Brandt and Erin Kane of 
Pursuant to last week’s 
I met Amie Adams of 
Today, parent educator 
One of the great things about 
From our very first e-mail -- back when I was just starting out and she was very much established already -- Asha Dornfest of 
Though we tend to go minimal and handmade for the holidays (column on this topic forthcoming), when we do buy gifts, we shop local and/or indie as much as possible. And oh how the local and indie awesomeness abounds in Boston! Worth checking out this weekend: the 
As a 
Marie LeBaron is a blog friend who I have yet to meet in real life, but we share a passion for crafting and food and I so admire all of the crafty awesomeness she shares on her site, 
Now that December is here I’m ready to embrace the holidays, and over the years I’ve found that Christmas décor is actually really easy. Once the tree is up, a pretty tree skirt and some festive stockings go a long way in creating the mood. And if you love having these elements (and more) coordinated just so, consider 
I met Allison Czarnecki of 
I first connected with Michelle Stern of 
I first met the lovely Isabel Kallman of 
I adore Melissa Massello, not only because she’s super creative and fun (plus, we share bonds over figure skating, fashion, shredding, and all things writerly), but because I’ve seen her jump from traditional employment to fulfilling her dream of launching the online magazine 
Though I still can’t stomach the concept of holiday in terms of retail displays in early November, I’m willing to make exceptions for the 
If you're like us, you're overrun with Halloween candy. I subsequently was thrilled to read 
As a foodie, eco-geek, and mom of a kid apparently 
It takes a village…to get an awesome deal. And to score bargains in Boston and beyond, check out 
Today, 
In theory, the holidays are supposed to be a time to celebrate and relax with family and friends, but I’m hard pressed to think of anyone who hasn’t mentioned holiday-related stress in some form, whether it’s due to shopping, holiday cards, or the prospect of dealing with family. Today, I’m offering 10 tips for reducing stress this holiday season, per a blog blast in conjunction with the 
Whether you're already a fan of Brian O'Donovan's weekly 
Laurel loves the spectacle associated with holidays, and we subsequently try to strike a balance between celebration and reinforcing ideas about material alternatives and diversity during these times. As such, we’ve been enjoying a few “holiday alternative” titles from 
), I dubbed this salt magical because it truly makes everything taste fantastic. It provides particularly wonderful seasoning for simple sautéed vegetables, or for meats of any kind.
