DIY + Handmade
DIY Summer Boredom Busters for Tweens
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]
Articles by Bay E
Kids + Family
How to Plan a Neighborhood Block Party This Summer
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]
Birthdays
The Best Gifts for Your Husband’s Birthday to Show Him Love
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]
DIY + Handmade
DIY Summer Wedding Favors Guests Can Take Home
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]
DIY + Handmade
Celebrating National Sugar Cookie Day With Recipes That Kids Can Make
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
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
“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
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
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]
Kids + Family
Teaching Generosity to Kids: The Giving Tree Party Ideas for a Fun Lesson on Kindness
“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
“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]
Holidays
Patriotic Party Ideas for Your Memorial Day BBQs and Backyard Block Parties
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]
Holidays
Mother’s Day Party Game Ideas and Family Activities That Are as Unique as Mom
“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]
DIY + Handmade
Last Minute DIY Mother’s Day Gifts: Elegant Breakfast in Bed Ideas for Mom
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 + Handmade
DIY Mother’s Day Flower Arrangements Picked Fresh to Surprise Mom with a Classic
“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]
Birthdays
Whimsical English High Tea Party Ideas for a Non-Traditional Spring Birthday Celebration
“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]
Parties
Spring Fresh Picnic Party Food Ideas and Inspirations for Your First Outdoor Gathering
“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]
DIY + Handmade
Eco-Friendly DIY Earth Day Gifts for a Clean and Green Kitchen This Spring
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]
DIY + Handmade
The Gifting Garden: Offering Spring’s Bounty as Homemade Gifts and DIY Edible Crafts
“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]
Kids + Family
A Sorbet Soirée: National Nutrition Month Party Ideas for Creative Ways to Serve Fruit
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]
Gift Giving
A Wondrously Wordy “Good Morning, Dr. Seuss” Read Across America Gift Exchange
“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]