I love quotations. I love how they take the wisdom of the ages and turn it into bite-size pieces.
So I was happy to see this gift idea from Luke Reynolds in Writer’s Digest magazine. Mr. Reynolds’ wife surprised him with a wooden tea caddy filled with handwritten quotes about writing to inspire his own writing. [...]

My friend Patti has given me some great gifts in all the years we’ve known each other. My favorite is the Magic 8 Ball she gave me the year we turned eight. My second favorite is the lavender neck warmer she got me for Christmas a few years ago. I use it all the time. [...]

I’m so excited about this idea for Valentine’s Day! To generate a love poem, you go to Festisite, type in your text, and click Layout Text. Some computer magic happens and a heart-shaped image made from your text appears. How cool is that?
I made one for Tim using the last few stanzas of “Anniversary Song” [...]

I meant to make these Wee Mouse Tin Houses as gifts this past Christmas. I really did. I even bought fabric. A week before Christmas. Needless to say, the mice didn’t get made. But there’s always Christmas 2013, right?
Except that after surviving the holidays the last thing I want to do is start thinking about [...]

My kids love straws. The more they twist and turn, the better. So I thought they’d get a kick out of these Name Straws.

The straws cost $3.99 (plus shipping), which I thought was reasonable for a gift that’s so unique. Krazystraws can make straws with up to 5 characters and/or 3 capital letters. And, really, [...]

Did this make you smile? Gabrielle Blair (Design Mom) featured Nathan Pyle‘s Princess Bride-inspired illustrations on her blog yesterday and asked her readers to share their favorite quotations from the movie.
There are dozens of great quotes, but the first one I thought of was “Life IS pain, Highness.” My dear husband says that to me when [...]

{ IKEA world map }
I have maps on the brain these days. It started when both Will and Lexie made it through the first two rounds in the National Geographic Bees at their respective schools. We got to watch Will answer some highly challenging questions in the final oral round to become the school champion. Today, [...]

There’s so much to talk about and an entire year to plan for and think about, but before launching into any of that I have to show you the Snowman Gum. A young lady in Will’s class gave these to everyone for Christmas and I think they’re the cutest things ever. We only had time [...]

There are so many great ideas out there on Pinterest, but as you probably know it can be a huge time-drainer. So I did the searching for you and found these five fantastic ideas to make your Halloween even more fun. I’ll keep pinning ideas, so be sure to check out my Halloween Inspiration board.
These [...]

Our family is so excited to welcome a new little cousin this month. He’s just a week old and as cute as can be. Babies are wonderful any time of year, but what’s especially fun about fall babies is that you get to dress them like pumpkins.
I learned how to knit pumpkin hats just last [...]