By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
I know that I keep writing about summer. But hey, is anybody NOT thinking about summer right now? Living in a beach-side town in Southern California, it is hard not to think of water and sun.  And having children, it is hard not to think about protecting them from the dangers of sunburns at the beach.
Glad I discovered this great Canadian company, SunSeals. They make swimsuits and accessories that have unique solar protection that screens out 98% of the sun’s harmful ultra-violet rays. 98 percent! They use chlorine treated nylon/lycra and polyester four way stretch [...]

I came across Mandy Budan’s paintings quite randomly through one of my endless web surfing sessions. That particular session ended right there and then as her work stopped me in my tracks.
The first thing I noticed was the familiar landscape. Mandy hails from Ontario, just a few hours away from my hometown of Montreal. Her collection of shapes and colors perfectly captures the indigenous landscape. I recognized it immediately and delighted in her visual interpretation of the local fauna.
Then, her joyful and captivating use of color. Her colors blend, contrast, clash and harmonize. And while, objectively, they often don’t relate [...]

WE HAVE OUR WINNER!   CONGRATULATIONS Johanna!
You have won the Grillmaster gift set.  Woot!
The winner was selected at random using the Random Integer Generator.
This giveaway contest is now closed but do subscribe via RSS or email
to get updates on new giveaways as they get posted. Thank you all for playing!
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We last wrote about the Great Lakes Tea & Spice company to rave about their high quality spice rubs, blends and teas. Here is their giveaway: the Great Lakes Grillmaster Kit. We think that this is a wonderful gift idea for Father’s Day, but it might also be a [...]

The Succulent Wife’s Marketplace on 1000 Markets proposes an all-seasons, all-occasions (nearly!) gift guide featuring the work of wonderfully talented artisans. 1000 Markets is a recently launched online marketplace that connects artisan shops with appreciative shoppers. Here, HANDMADE is the operative word for products in dozens of categories. Please come in to see our picks for truly beautiful, original and meaningful gift ideas.

We’re moving the family to Chicago. I’m very excited, but have only been there twice and am entirely confounded by the endless neighborhoods (Las Vegas doesn’t really have “neighborhoods”. We have walled communities and shopping centers!). So I went looking for a map that would give me such a reference. Not just streets and municipalities, but actual neighborhoods by name. My – arduous! – search lead me to an article on PrairieMod (If you love Frank Lloyd Wright and the Prairie Style, you’ll love this blog) giving me ex.act.ly what I had been looking for: Ork Posters by Jennifer [...]

I’m pretty sure that we’ve all, unwillingly, committed the offense portrayed on the left, to one extent or another. We can curse the low waisted jeans all we want, it appears that they are here to stay for a while yet. So, let’s deal with the problem. Actually, Christine and Kelley, the developers behind the Hip-T “t-shirt extenders” solved the problem for us by inventing this little tube top like sheath that you wear over your jeans and under your t-shirt.
hip-T noun: stretch fabric hip wrap worn over your jeans, and under your shirt: create sassy layers without the t-shirt [...]

I have been joyfully soaking in the advent of summer by listening to the birds sing. And, I love watching hummingbirds flutter nearby. Quite the perfect portrait of summer. If you wanted to catch the fever and welcome these delightful tiny creatures into your backyard, here are some beautiful hummingbird feeders for  you to consider.

The Parasol Garden Company makes some of the prettiest hummingbird feeders to be found anywhere. The company was started in 1997 when founders Alfredo García-Lucio and Jim McKeever could not find a birdfeeder to satisfy their sense of aesthetics. Thank goodness, because then Alfredo, [...]

It’s all relative. In some countries, for some entrepreneurs, $25 can change their life. I’ve lived in Africa (Congo/Zaïre/Congo) and have seen firsthand how so little money can have such a big impact.
You’ve undoubtedly heard about Kiva.org by now, the organization that facilitates micro loans to small entrepreneurs in 184 different underprivileged countries. You and I are the ones providing the loans, starting with as little as $25 towards average total loans sizes of $420.59.
More than 80% of Kiva’s loans go to women entrepreneur. Which is why I thought that this would be the perfect time to mention this as [...]