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HomeAuthorsBay E

Articles by Bay E

About Bay E
Bay E. has her BA & MA in English and creative writing from San Francisco State University. She’s passionate about poetry, cooking, photography, and exploring the great outdoors. When it comes to gift-giving, she loves creating homemade gifts with a natural and artistic flair, often food-related with some sort of quote or recipe attached.
tween summer boredom busters
DIY + Handmade

DIY Summer Boredom Busters for Tweens

Bay E

My sister Kelsey and I are 8 years apart; when she was heading into her pre-teen tween years, I was still a toddler. My parents did an amazing job of keeping us (and our brother [read more]

decorating a neighborhood block party for summer
Kids + Family

How to Plan a Neighborhood Block Party This Summer

Bay E

When I was growing up, we’d pack into my mom’s car and venture from our home in the countryside exactly one hour north to my auntie’s house in the suburbs. We’d arrive at her cul-de-sac [read more]

best gifts for husbands birthday
Birthdays

The Best Gifts for Your Husband’s Birthday to Show Him Love

Bay E

Like an over-eager child, I anticipate the celebration of any and all birthdays. I owe this to my mother who, on each birthday, would decorate the house with the same Happy Birthday sign, balloon-print napkins [read more]

love grows wedding favor DIY
DIY + Handmade

DIY Summer Wedding Favors Guests Can Take Home

Bay E

From outdoor receptions under the sun to an ice cream cart for guests and bouquets filled with peonies and lavender, summer weddings fill the air with a refreshing warmth and relaxation. As I daydream about [read more]

creative sugar cookie recipes
DIY + Handmade

Celebrating National Sugar Cookie Day With Recipes That Kids Can Make

Bay E

Comedian Gary Gulman said it best when he said, “Every cookie is a sugar cookie. A cookie without sugar is a cracker.” Sugar cookies have a reputation for being a bit basic in the baking [read more]

Holidays

Canadian-Themed Party Food and Game Ideas to Celebrate Canada Day in the USA

Bay E

On July 1st 1867, the nation of Canada was officially born with the enactment of the Constitution Act. Today, the country celebrates July 1st with all things red, white, and Canadian. And just two years [read more]

DIY + Handmade

DIY Father’s Day Gifts from Daughter: Easy Last Minute Homemade Gift Basket Ideas

Bay E

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person — he believed in me.” – Jim Valvano When I think of my father, there are poignant and particular things that come to [read more]

Gift Giving

Pet Lovers Gift Basket Ideas for Dog and Owner to Dig Into Bonding and Adventure

Bay E

Growing up, we had a good-natured yellow labrador named Woody who happily traipsed through the trees and rolling hills of the neighborhood with us as if it was all his backyard. Being the youngest in [read more]

Birthdays

Tech Gifts for Teenage Guys: The Benefits of Social Media on Interpersonal Relationships

Bay E

When I was about 10, technology began to infiltrate my childhood when we got our first computer. We’d already been venturing to my grandma’s, who had a slow giant of a desktop stationed in her [read more]

classic kid book
Kids + Family

Teaching Generosity to Kids: The Giving Tree Party Ideas for a Fun Lesson on Kindness

Bay E

“Once there was a tree, and she loved a little boy.” ― Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree Over 50 years ago, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein took root in the world. It’s a small, [read more]

DIY + Handmade

Creative Hostess Gift Ideas: Easy DIYs Offering Gratitude at Summer Dinner Parties

Bay E

“I have only to break into the tightness of a strawberry, and I see summer—its dust and lowering skies.” – Toni Morrison As the sensations of summer loom on the horizon—the blooming of roses, strawberries [read more]

Memorial Day BBQ
Holidays

Patriotic Party Ideas for Your Memorial Day BBQs and Backyard Block Parties

Bay E

Memorial Day signifies the unofficial start of summer when light sweaters are replaced with swim suits and backpacks are replaced with beach bags. Growing up, this often meant holidays spent around a beach bonfire with [read more]

playing games with mom
Holidays

Mother’s Day Party Game Ideas and Family Activities That Are as Unique as Mom

Bay E

“Mama was my greatest teacher, a teacher of compassion, love and fearlessness. If love is sweet as a flower, then my mother is that sweet flower of love.” —Stevie Wonder On Sunday May 14th, we [read more]

breakfast in bed
DIY + Handmade

Last Minute DIY Mother’s Day Gifts: Elegant Breakfast in Bed Ideas for Mom

Bay E

The smell of coffee, morning sun streaming in through the window, the tang of freshly squeezed orange juice—there’s nothing quite as special as a thoughtfully prepared breakfast in bed to fill a soul up with [read more]

DIY floral bouquet
DIY + Handmade

DIY Mother’s Day Flower Arrangements Picked Fresh to Surprise Mom with a Classic

Bay E

“A mother is one who fills your heart in the first place.” Amy Tan Flowers are so naturally and intrinsically linked to Mother’s Day gifts. When I was a kid, I can recall using every [read more]

nontraditional birthday celebration
Birthdays

Whimsical English High Tea Party Ideas for a Non-Traditional Spring Birthday Celebration

Bay E

“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves — slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” – Thich Nat Hahn I love everything that tea [read more]

picnic party foods ideas
Parties

Spring Fresh Picnic Party Food Ideas and Inspirations for Your First Outdoor Gathering

Bay E

“The Earth Laughs in Flowers.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson When spring comes, promising sunshine in the skies and the budding of fresh flowers in the garden, I am exuberant. There’s a magical aura surrounding the [read more]

You cook, I'll clean
DIY + Handmade

Eco-Friendly DIY Earth Day Gifts for a Clean and Green Kitchen This Spring

Bay E

For the last few years, my fiancé Nick and I have taken a creative approach to celebrating Earth Day. One year, while living in San Francisco, we crafted a kitchen composter out of a coffee [read more]

fresh seasonal fruit
DIY + Handmade

The Gifting Garden: Offering Spring’s Bounty as Homemade Gifts and DIY Edible Crafts

Bay E

“Is the spring coming?” he said. “What is it like?” “It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine…” —Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden In the four years [read more]

red, ripe strawberries
Kids + Family

A Sorbet Soirée: National Nutrition Month Party Ideas for Creative Ways to Serve Fruit

Bay E

Growing up on an avocado farm in rural San Diego, fresh fruit was almost always in season. Our property was filled with pomegranates, blood oranges, apples, bananas, lemons, limes, cherimoyas, and, of course, our beloved, [read more]

dr. seuss read across america
Gift Giving

A Wondrously Wordy “Good Morning, Dr. Seuss” Read Across America Gift Exchange

Bay E

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go!” – Dr. Seuss As a toddler, my mom would drop me at my grandma’s [read more]

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tea gifts
Gift Giving

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Gift Giving

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