Today marks the last day of National Pasta Week, but that doesn’t mean we can’t continue to enjoy it just the same! Pasta is one of my family’s favorite things to eat (and one of my favorite things to make), whether it’s with an easy tomato sauce, a cream sauce or just some olive oil, garlic and fresh chopped tomatoes.

Though it might be easier to just use dried, store-bought pasta from a box for your next meal, the taste and texture of fresh pasta is really worth the bit of time and effort it takes to make it.
The recipe below, …read more

Having someone (generally a stranger) photograph their crafts and original designs without permission concerns many artisans.  In today’s electronic world, with cell phones that can take a photo unobtrusively in a second, this becomes an even greater concern. 
In addition, the picture taker can almost instantly place these photos on a site/blog or send to another person.  Even signs around your display, “Please do not take photos,” won’t deter some people.  These signs may even spur them on as a challenge.
With today’s ease in photography and the disregard (or ignorance) of copyright, most crafts aren’t safe from copying.  Print magazines still adhere …read more

My son loves to make Lego creations, but this Lego creation tops them all. A life size Lego house was built this August in Dorking, Surrey for the BBC series James May’s Toy Stories. The Lego structure was built complete with a working toilet and shower.  James May wanted it to be placed at Legoland, but a deal to put it there fell through, so the Lego house did not have a long life.

I was sitting here and thinking of all of the weirdness that goes on in coffee shops. I mean, talk about slice of life!
The thing is that different people go to coffee shops for different reasons. Marc and I go to have some time alone and talk. Some people go to have business meetings. Students go there to study. Lots of people with lots of reasons and sometimes the lifestyles clash.

Today, September 23rd, is National White Chocolate Day. Though not a holiday in the sense that it’s not observed or, well, even recognized as a real holiday, it doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun with it! White chocolate, which is actually a recent “invention” by Nestle created to use up excess cocoa butter, is a good addition to many baked goods, though it w

Odds are if you’re thrifty, you’re also already pretty darn green. Eco-friendly living and thrifty living go hand in hand in so many ways. However, there’s always a few more things you can do to green your budget situation. Bank responsibly: Banks are not all the same shade of green. Some banks offer special green incentives and ways you can socially invest your money as well.

Jakks Pacific has some of the coolest gadgets for kids. I love their Night Vision Goggles, they were a huge hit last year at Christmastime. This year Jakks is introducing a new EyeClops® Mini Projector for kids to add to their wish list, I’m sure it’s going to be a popular toy for Christmas 2009.

We all know that chocolate and strawberries together are good, and chocolate and bananas are good, and bananas and strawberries are good. So how can you go wrong with all three together in one relatively healthy drink? PerfectSmoothie.com has a lot of great tips for making, well, a perfect smoothie! Their four vital tips to make a smoothie are to use frozen ingredients, choose “super foods,” use a high end blender, and make it healthy. They also offer information on the health benefits of having a smoothie every day.

Now I have no idea whether there is such an “official” thing as a “13-month sleep regression” — a general tendency for babies to wake more frequently at night when they turn about 13 months old, but I am too tired to look into it. My toddler just turned 14 months old and the last month has been a challenge in the (lack of) sleep department. I noticed other mothers mentioning that their toddlers were night-waking more often too, and I am not surprised. There must be a few different factors playing into it.

Wedding dresses are, by tradition, made long. It’s more formal, elegant and romantic. But we have to acknowledge the fact that the length may not be flattering to all brides. On the other hand, the idea of cutting the hemline short wouldn’t be as special as wearing a long dress on your wedding day. It’s quite understandable that it’ll pose as a big dilemma for the bride.
How can one choose?