We all know that moving ranks up there with divorce and death as one of the top family stress and trauma inducers. Even when the move was planned with much eagerness.
One of my great takeaways from this harrowing move is my new determination – as a very conscious decision – to live with less stuff. This seems like an obvious and auspicious awakening in these times… Like, duh. In my defense, I knew all that already (see post), but this renewed, steadfast determination is prompted by the realization that we hauled stuff across three states that was not worth moving.
No [...]

I always like to guess how companies choose their names. In this case, with the tagline of “Everyone needs an Alice”, it’s a “duh” to guess that loyal, no-nonsense, do-it-all Brady Bunch’s Alice was the inspiration. Close enough: Alice.com is a virtual home manager. It’s household shopping with all the extras and none of the hauling.
The benefits in a nutshell:

Free shipping – always, whatever the order amount
Lower prices – they eliminate the middleman, the consumer gets the best price available
Coupons applied automatically – if there is a coupon for that product, it will be applied, no action needed
Arrives at your [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
Is it summer yet? I know I keep asking because we are totally geared up over here (as you could tell from my post on swimwear last week and on the FaceStick sunblock before that). Summer = water + fun. That’s the first thing I think of. Then, it’s water + wet + cold = miserable kids.  That invariably seems to be the formula.
With two kids in swimming lessons, many pool parties, beach days and a teenager who lives at the beach all summer, I’m so glad that I found these Ragz pullovers. They are [...]

I’ve always made lists. I’ve even been made fun because of my list making. Still, I’m undeterred. Having a list (or a few) helps me manage all the thoughts running through my head. It’s liberating, a weight lifted from not having to remember. If it’s written down, it’s almost as good as done. Almost.
Have you noticed how lists are everywhere and can apply to everything in our lives? Like mundane “HoneyDo” list to “1000 Places to See Do Before You Die” or the Facebook “25 Random Things About Me” lists (I didn’t play on that one) or the infinite variety [...]

I don’t know about you, but as I’ve gotten older my “ick” factor for public places has grown exponentially. I’m not quite OCD just yet. And the day may not even come since I’ve just discovered this magnificent little tool that makes recommendations for location and cleanliness of public restrooms. You can use SitOrSquat.com online or more practical, download the app to use it on your iPhone or Blackberry. This wiki developed by Charmin, the toilet paper brand, enables users to locate public toilets, upload their own suggestions and rate the ones that are already listed. This app is still [...]

Viveca Stone-Berry and I connected by chance through one social network or another. Neither one of us can remember which. But what I remember is catching on immediately with the title of one of her blogs “Fatigue Be Gone”. I recently emerged from iron-deficiency anemia so, anything sporting the words “fatigue” and “gone” immediately gets my attention. I had fallen victim to extreme fatigue and it took me almost a year to figure it out. What was this inexorable fatigue? Was I depressed (it felt like it but didn’t really…)? Was I overwhelmed, overtaxed, overstressed? Was I sleep-deprived? Not likely, [...]

Well, when you put it that way…
I always wondered why, after a getaway with my good friend Audrey, a few glasses of wine later, the jeans are so much tighter…. Actually, I always knew why, but now that I am faced with such visual evidence, it will be easier to say “No thank you, Dahhhlin’. I’m still sipping on this one”.  Ughhh.
You can find this darned clever Alcohol Experiment Widget on the BBC website, right HERE. Geeez, BBC, thanks a lot.

Via Iconoculture.

Should you ever find yourself angry, stressed and/or frustrated while in San Diego, I thought that you’d like to know about this useful little place: Sarah’s Smash Shack is a unique shop that houses two “break rooms” where you can legally, freely and uninhibitedly go in and break stuff.
There is, in fact, a whole menu of things to break. Among them, you can get the House Special for $35 or bring your own breakables for a “corkage fee”. You can also  bring your own music to smash to your own rhythms.

I think that every major metropolitan area deserves one of [...]

Launched just this past October by notable editor Tina Brown, The Daily Beast is my favorite new way to get my news fix. It is a news aggregator, but this one uniquely presents cheeky and clever editorial summaries on the top news stories and issues.
I get my Daily Beast through a daily email that covers top & breaking stories (which is all I need to get my news – under 3 minutes, thankyouverymuch). When you have time, it’s worth clicking through and reading other stories and articles from The Daily Beast’s fabulous and diverse array of contributors. My favorite of [...]

We are having our office Christmas sendoff party tomorrow. With the economy in its present lamentable state and its nagging determination to bring down our holiday spirit, we decided to have a White Elephant Gift Exchange to inject a little humor and fun in our party. As I was presenting the idea to the group, I realized that many did not know what this was. So here is how we have done a White Elephant Gift Exchange in the past, with a few simple rules:
For the gift:

One gift per attendee
The gift cannot be purchased
It must be in serviceable condition, [...]