flickr and free stuff

For today's wonderful web wednesday we're going with something fun, easy, and best of all, free. Love the letters I've used to spell "fun?" Then check out a site where you too can spell with flickr. I read this on Boutique Cafe a while back and have had a lot of fun with it. Use it to enhance your blog, website, or auctions. It's way easy and way free. Just type in a word and see what letter images pop up. Don't like the options? Just click on a letter to change it. When you're done copy the code and paste it wherever you'd like.

And I can't sign off without mentioning another great website, or blog rather--and I'm not just saying that because the woman behind the blog won freshly baked's first ever giveaway. Keeping my Fingers Crossed is a great blog for the contest hopefuls out there. Lace, the woman behind the posts, not only loves finding contests, giveaways, and great deals but loves sharing them with friends as well. She updates her blog every weekday, sometimes more than once a day, and it's chock full of great contests and giveaways. How she finds them all I'll never know, but I'm glad she does! She even posted about a giveaway she recently won...yes, that would be the fabulous gift bag from freshly baked! So if you enjoy keeping your own fingers crossed (along with everything else) then Keeping My Fingers Crossed is a must-visit blog for you. Good luck! --Emily

easy fashion trends

What is your fashion style? Not really sure? Try taking this fun fashion quiz at lifescript.com. Once you know what your style is--whether it's all about comfort and function, or if your the neat and chic type--you can make being fashionable as easy as raiding your own closet. fashion trend tuesday is focusing on the hot new trends that anyone can take advantage of.

1. Red Lips. Very sexy, very fresh.

2. Black tights. So slimming, who wouldn't love this trend?

3. Colorful shoes. Help make an outfit go from flat to fun, by adding a colorful kick! (sorry for the pun)

4. Classic slacks. Jeans will never be out, but slacks are so hip. (again, sorry for the pun)

5. Chunky knits. Everyone has their favorite comfy sweater, now it's fashionable!

Even if you're not one to hound all the latest fashion trends, it doesn't hurt to "sneak a peek" at what's hip, every once in a while. There's always something fun you can adapt to your own, unique style. --LeShan

no hidden agenda here

With a husband, four kids, a business, a blog, and a slew of extracurricular activities, if something's not written down it's not going to happen. That's why I love my momAgenda Desktop Planner and why I'm highlighting this product for mompreneur monday. Without it, art classes, cello lessons, play dates, doctor's appointments, and even the occasional date night would be long forgotten.

momAgenda has an entire line of fabulous products perfect for us moms trying to keep it all together (or at least trying to fake it). My favorite, their Desktop Planner, is a 17-month planner with a great week-at-a-view format and space for mom and up to four kids. You've got your overall view of each day at the top and separate spaces for others in the family. I use two of the spaces for my two oldest (thank heavens I don't have to schedule my other two just yet), and then one for a to-do list (or two depending on how many to-do's I have). I especially love the added space at the bottom for meal planning. Helps me to know just what day I'm fixing mac 'n' cheese so I can make sure it's well spaced from quesadilla night, which needs to be a day or two away from pancake night. And to keep you planning in style the Desktop Planner comes in five fun colors.

momAgenda also has a great Family Planner (see photo at top) that fits right on your fridge. It's large enough to fit everyone's schedule, which means no excuses for missing family game night. You can also stock up on notepads that cover everything from grocery planning to permission slips to babysitter's info. I need all the help I can get to stay organized and momAgenda makes it easy to do so. Check out their new Kitchen Folio, a great way to solve the paperwork problem by making it a cinch to organize--and therefore find--class lists, school schedules, sports schedules, menus, whatever it is you've got piled on the counter or in that junk drawer.

Hurry over to momAgenda and purchase a Fuschia Desktop Planner before October 31st. You'll not only be giving yourself peace of mind (and an organized mind at that) but also doing your part to help fight breast cancer. --Emily

t.g.i.f.

The chef in each of us is as different as our fingerprints. Some of us are very precise and follow the recipe to a T, while other's like to wing it...no recipe ever turns out the same twice. Either way, recipes are a reflection of our own unique personality, that's part of why sharing recipes is so much fun! Who doesn't have a recipe that reminds them of someone special, or that they hope will make someone special think of them?

Because this is the last food for thought friday in October I'd like to share one more pumpkin recipe and a family favorite. May you have a long, enjoyable weekend!

Pumpkin Soup

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 med. onion chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can (15oz.) pumpkin

2 chicken flavor boullion cubes

3 cups boiling water

1 cup light cream or half and half

4 oz cream cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

In 3 qt. saucepan, heat oil over med high heat and cook onion, garlic. Stir in boullion cubes with water and pumpkin. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 mins. Stir in cream cheese, and cream. Cook stirring occasionally, 5 mins. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.

Fun Tip: Serve this soup in mini-hollowed out pumpkins.

Scones
2 cups flour
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. butter (frozen)
1/2 cup fruit of choice (I use canned blueberries, dried cherries, or raisins, sometimes I like to omit fruit and add cinnamon).
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Grate butter into flour, use fingers to work in butter, stir in fruit. Wisk sour cream, and egg together. Add to flour, form into a ball. Flatten on floured surface to about 1-1 1/2 inches thick, and sprinkle with sugar. Cut into triangles, like a pizza. Bake for 15-17 minutes. --LeShan

our senses make sense

For thankful thursday I want to express my gratitude for the senses. I'm not just talking about the sense of sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound...but I'll get to that later. So here's the list in no particular order;

1) Sight. Okay, sometimes I could go without this one, like when I see the state of my house right now. On the other hand, here in Florida, we have the best sunrises and sunsets. It's a pretty great way to start and end the day.

2) Smell. My favorite scent in the world is the smell of a freshly bathed child. I love to stick my nose in the nape of my kids' necks, I could smell that all day, if only they didn't squirm so much.

3) Touch. A long hug from someone I love, it's like heaven on earth.

4) Sound. Listening to the birds chirping early in the morning, who knew such a small creature could have so much energy?! I'm just a bit jealous.

5) Taste. Almost any thing fresh is bound to be fabulous, fresh bread, fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, you get the idea. Then of course chocolate...need I say more?

Then there's the other senses I am truly grateful for;

6) Common sense. This one is handy. It's what tells me to finally go to bed, so I won't be throwing tantrums that would put my kids tantrums to shame.

7) Sense-itivity. This one requires a combination of love and patience. I'm so thankful that my husband, kids, and best friend are gifted with this one!

8) Sense of Humor. Life would be very blah without this one! It's the only way I can handle the poopy diapers, the loud cell phone-talker in line next to me, or the extra 2 lbs gained while sleeping.

Yep, I am very grateful for all the wonderful senses!--LeShan

It's wonderful web wednesday and I've got a truly wonderful site for you. Of course you may have already discovered Etsy, but if you haven't then you're in for a real treat. Etsy is an "online marketplace for buying and selling all things handmade." But "all things" definitely doesn't do this site justice.

Etsy has something for everyone, and I mean everyone. Categories include bags & purses, ceramics, clothing, jewelry, needlecraft, plants & edibles, toys, and vintage items--and that's only a sampling. You can search for products by color, geographic location of the seller, how recently they were listed, even by which seller's birthday it is that day. And if you're looking to sell the process is easy as pie. Sign-up is free, your own shop is free, and besides a small sales fee (3.5%) and listing fee (.20 per quantity) Etsy provides you with everything you need to start selling your own handmade items.

So head on over to Etsy and browse away, but be sure you've got a couple hours free and more than a couple bucks to spend. Browsing all those fabulous handmade items is very addicting and I guarantee you'll find more than one that'll tickle your fancy. Happy shopping! --Emily

your link to pink

It's Breast Cancer Awareness Month...as though you didn't already know that! What could be more fashionable than sporting pink? So for fashion trend tuesday, I'd like to share some great links to to pink! I'm not one to go overboard with the color, but there's definitely something about pink that makes you stop and take notice, it's fun, showy, and all girl. You can shop till you drop--from pink scuba gear to pink mascara--you will never run out of pink paraphernalia to choose from. The best part is, it can all go to a good cause. Each time you look at your pink purchases it will remind you of a great cause that you support. Here's my top 5 favorites to get you thinking pink! (Click on the image to shop for that item.)

1. Pink Swiss Army Knife available from Swiss Knife Headquarters

2. by Ralph Lauren (I'm a real sucker for a tee)




3. Emergen-C Packets available at Whole Foods Market (okay it's not fashion, but it is fashionable to take care of yourself)





4. Sock Monkey Tee from CafePress.com








5. Marc by Marc Jacobs Breast Cancer Awareness Charity Charm Bracelet exclusively from shopbop.com





Curious how much of the proceeds goes toward the cause? Check out Think Before You Pink's website and see what companies are donating to breast cancer funds. --LeShan

pleasantly priced printing

Along the same theme as last week's mompreneur monday post we bring you a budget-friendly site for your printing needs. From business cards to letterhead to promotional items VistaPrint has quite possibly the best prices on the web. We've used VistaPrint for the insert cards we include in our packaging and the oversized postcards we use for mailing to retailers. Not once have we been disappointed on the pricing. You can even get free--though very basic--business cards by using one of their templates. Yes, I said free!

If you are interested in creating your own stationary or marketing materials VistaPrint allows you to upload your design for a small fee, but it's worth it if you want to create a consistent feel among your business products. Best of all VistaPrint has specials all the time, and I mean all the time. For example right now (as of my typing this tonight, October 21st) you can get 250 premium business cards free (normally $19.99) and 500 are only $10! And over in the postcards section you can get 100 standard postcards free or 100 oversized postcards for only $15. A black & white backside and glossy finish are thrown in for free as well. Sure, you have to pay for added perks like a color backside or, as mentioned before, your own design, but when you can get 100 oversized postcards with your own design, glossy finish, and black & white backside ready for mailing for $20 plus shipping I think it's something to get excited about. (Yes, I get just as excited about great printing prices as I do about software discounts. Sigh...it's a mompreneur's life. What can I say?)

VistaPrint also offers mailing services, creative services, and logo design. Not sure if those prices are competitive so shop around a bit. But visit VistaPrint and see if you aren't pleasantly surprised by their products and prices. It's a great site for business owners who have yet to find a money tree in their backyard. (Personally I think the previous homeowners took it with them...) --Emily

what can't you do with a can of pumpkin?

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food." -- George Bernard Shaw

And with those words of wisdom I bring you food for thought friday. With pumpkins popping up left and right I had to share two of my favorite pumpkin-related recipes. Mine of course revolve around dessert although the first one is actually a healthy version of my previous pumpkin cookie recipe. But trust me, healthy doesn't mean it's not tasty--it means you can eat twice as many (not true for the pumpkin bars...sorry!)

Easy Pumpkin Cookies
1 (18.25 ounce) spice cake mix
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix ingredients until well combined. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until set. Option: leave out chocolate chips and drizzle cream cheese frosting over the top.


Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
1 2/3 c sugar
1 c vegetable oil
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
2 c flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Icing
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese frosting, softened
2 c confectioner's sugar
1/4 c butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 T milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Pour into an ungreased 15" x 10" x 1" baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely.

For icing, beat cream cheese, sugar, butter and vanilla in a small mixing bowl. Add enough of the milk to achieve desired spreading consistency. Spread over bars.

If you have a favorite recipe using canned pumpkin please share it with us. There are always more than enough cans of pumpkin in my pantry! --Emily

an attitude of gratitude

For this week's thankful thursday I really had to focus on the simple things. It was a hard week here at home with school projects, fussy babies, snotty noses, two-year-old tantrums (from my husband), and very little sleep. I needed this post today so I could refocus and readjust my attitude, so here goes! This week I'm thankful for...

• Weight-Watcher friendly pumpkin cookies because then I can eat twice as many and not feel twice as guilty (recipe to follow tomorrow)
• a two-month old who has given Mom smiles since week three and always lifts Mom's spirits even when Mom wants to stay grumpy
• a separate toy room downstairs so I can just close the door and pretend Toys R Us didn't just throw up in my basement
• late-night emails between friends--one of the cheapest and best forms of therapy
• cold, rainy days that justify staying in my sweats until I finally decide to shower (if I decide to shower at all)

I know most people don't comment on posts, but if you've had a week like mine, give it a try. Let us know the five things you're grateful for and see if it doesn't give you an attitude of gratitude. It worked for me (that and the ice-cold Diet Coke I just finished off). --Emily

meet the budget fashionista...

...you're new best friend! But before I introduce her let me introduce you to wonderful web wednesday. Wednesdays on freshly baked will feature the best of the web (i.e. our most favorite sites). We'll highlight everything from fashion sites to photo blogs--you never know what Wednesday will bring but it will definitely be worth checking out!

I just stumbled across The Budget Fashionista the other day and it's the kind of site you wish you had stumbled upon a long time ago. It's the blog for those of us who want to "look and live great on a budget." A self-proclaimed expert on "shopping, fashion trends, blogging, fashion advice for REAL women, and the use of Jedi mind tricks to reduce credit card interest rates," Kathryn Finney's blog has become so popular it's led to a book (How to Be a Budget Fashionista) and countless television segments, radio interviews, and feature stories. But even without such an impressive intro, Finney's blog is sure to be one of your top ten favorite sites.

With a shopping fetish to which we can all relate and a writing style that sounds like you're talking to your girlfriend, The Budget Fashionista makes for a good read. With up-to-date beauty info (Sonia Kashuk 'Sheer Magic' Minerals for Target), important fashion trends (Vera Wang Comes to Kohls Department Stores), and a plethora of online coupons, it becomes a fantastic, don't-miss-a-post read. If you want a taste of what you can expect from this fashionista's blog, check out yesterday's post titled The Budget Fashionista in the News. --Emily

P.S. Love the red boots, and the deal she got on them proves she's a girl after my own heart!

fashion or function?

Time for fashion trend tuesday! Remember those days when you could go to the closet, pick out something you wanted to wear without wondering whether it was functional? Many times I might feel like wearing a silk blouse, or white jeans, or some strappy sandals. But knowing that I will probably end up having yogurt fingerprints plastered to my shirt, or crayon doodles on my pants, while balancing laundry with kids in tow, I opt for the t-shirt, worn jeans, and flip-flops. Sound familiar? That's why my favorite picks for fall's latest trends are the sweater coat and moccasins. They go well with everything from the t-shirt and jeans to a skirt and blouse, but best of all they are functional! I've gotten away with wearing my pajamas underneath because the sweater hides all, and the moccasins give me the dressed up look. Here are some of my favorite websites for these can't live without items:


Garnet Hill Sweater

LL Bean Red Moccasins

Garnet Hill Moccasin flats




We know you have your favorites, and would love to hear what works for you! --LeShan

another benefit of having kids

If you haven't guessed by now we're giving each weekday on freshly baked a specific theme. Thursday is thankful thursday, Friday is food for thought friday, and now we bring you mompreneur monday. Monday's posts will feature websites, tips, stories--anything we think might be helpful for moms like us trying to make their business successful while at the same time balancing the budget and the family. Now, we don't claim to be experts. In fact we still have a lot to learn, but we're happy to share what we know and hope you will do the same. If you know of some great resources for mompreneurs and women business owners in general, please email us so we can include them in a future post. We're all in this together!

Besides being great tax deductions I'm going to tell you about another way your kids can save you money. Today I'd like to share a site I came across while searching for a better price on those not-so-cheap Pantone books used in graphic and other design. Academic Superstore is a website where you can purchase everything from hardware and software to books and teaching aids at a discount. As many of you know, academic discounts usually require a current college ID or other proof of college attendance. But at Academic Superstore if you're a student or parent of a student attending classes from kindergarten to college--yes, I said kindergarten--you can buy most of the products on the site at the academic discount. All I needed to purchase our Pantone Color Bridge at about half the retail price was a copy of my third-grader's most recent report card. For those of us on a tight business budget, this is a pretty cool site! (Just be sure and ready any and all restrictions or guidelines because some manufacturers require full-time enrollment.)

I love a good deal and Academic Superstore has thousands of them. Hey, it's about time those kids started earning their keep--saving you money is a great way to do so! (Kind of sad when academic discounts on software excite me but what can I say?) Just be sure and check out their Bargain Bin for extra savings! --Emily

what's cooking?

It's Friday, and that spells relief for most of us! We've decided to dedicate Fridays to our favorite, fun recipes. So to kick off food for thought friday here's one of my faves. It's easy and healthy, and for all you non-fish lovers, like my husband, you will love this.

Grilled Tillapia
1/2 c Parmesan Cheese
1/4 c Butter softened
3T Mayo
2T Lemon juice
1/4t Basil
1/4t Pepper
1/8t Celery salt
2lbs Tiliapia fillets

Place fish in a 9x13 dish, mix remaining ingredients in bowl. Broil fish for 3-5 mins. turn over, add mixture on top of fish. Broil for 3-5 mins. or until fish flakes easily. Serve with steamed veggies and rice. Enjoy!

"Fish say, they have their stream and pond; but is there anything beyond?" --Rupert Brooke

Some days I would interpret this quote to mean dreaming big and looking beyond myself. But today, I interpret it as being content with my own stream and pond and hanging with my fishies. (I know that's about as deep as a shallow pond.) --LeShan

i'm thankful for...

Every Thanksgiving we go around the table and share with everyone what we're most thankful for. Then after doing so we quickly move on to pumpkin pies, naps, and football. A few years back LeShan and I read Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy by Sarah Ban Breathnach in which she talked about creating a daily gratitude journal, taking the time to write down five things you are grateful for each day. Some days finding five things was easy, and other days all I was grateful for were the five minutes I had to myself in the shower. I no longer keep a gratitude journal but I think it's high time we spent more than one day a year counting our blessings. Here at freshly baked we're going to do it once a week. Every Thursday is now going to be thankful thursday. We will post the five things we are thankful for that week and hope you will take the time to do the same. We would love to hear what you're most thankful for so feel free to share. Your comments might help us remember a few blessings we forgot to count!

To start off our new thankful thursday here's my list of five things I'm grateful for this week. And remember, no blessing is too small to count...

• My mom's meatloaf recipe. It's one of the very few dishes everyone, including my now-picky two-year-old, enjoys.
• The ability to survive on less than five hours of sleep and only one can of Diet Coke.
• A daughter who is chosen to be on the school's Peer Leadership Team because she demonstrates "excellent citizenship, friendliness, and a willingness to help others."
• Finding out last minute my husband's friend's wife is also coming to the house to see the newly finished basement because I ended up cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms and did my hair and makeup in record time. I have a clean home one day sooner than planned--it's almost like I have a day off!
• Above mentioned Diet Coke.

Now you give it a try. --Emily

satisfy your cravings

georgie tees is sponsoring the Free Fab Swag giveaway on PoshCravings for the month of October. The winner will receive our new mama lisa tee and a $100 gift certificate to georgietees.com! Simply register at PoshCravings and you'll not only receive their fabulous newsletter and partner promotions but be eligible for their fab swag (free designer goodies). You can return once each week to enter the giveaway.

georgie tees' "i scream" onesie was Isabelle's pick for PoshCravings Summer Tee Party feature back in June. Check out the full review here.

Reminder! You can win one of georgie tees new mama lisa shirts from Mom 4 Life, one of our favorite boutiques. During the month of October, Mom 4 Life is giving away over $1500 in prizes to celebrate their four-year anniversary. It's easy to enter so click here to get registered for your chance to win. Look for georgie tees in Week 2!

Plus when you register you help support a good cause: "Your entry also is a blessing to the Open Arms Pregnancy Care Center in Coeur d'Alene Idaho. For every 5 entries into our giveaway this month, we will donate an extra $1.00 to this center so spread the word and together we can be a BIG blessing to this center!" Hurry and get registered--the first week is already under way! --Emily

support the cause in style

You'd have to be seriously out of the loop to not know October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Besides buying pink M&M's, pink cans of Campbell's soup, or even special packages of Brawny paper towels, we've found some truly stylish ways you can show your support. So get ready to do some serious shopping because when it comes to supporting a worthy cause there's no such thing as a budget (at least that's what we tell ourselves).

• Purchase five Echo scarves designed by Fred Flare and 10% off all proceeds will go to breastcancer.org
• Honor a survivor or remember a lost loved one with a special keepsake key tag from tj&co and 25% of your purchase will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure
• Pamper yourself or someone you love with the We [heart] Moms Breast Cancer Awareness Set from MDMoms and 15% of the price will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure
• Let your little one help support the cause in a limited edition pink ribbon shirt from ResaDesign; 40% of the proceeds go to Chicago-based Bright Pink
• Nurse in style with a beautiful bra from Nummies and $5 from that sale will go to The Credit Valley Hospital Foundation for Cancer Research
• Shop for a variety of great gifts from The Breast Cancer Site's Pink Ribbon Store; each item purchased generates funds that provide free mammograms for women in need
• Satisfy a sweet tooth with a gift box from Eleni's NYC "b cancer aware" collection of tempting cookies and 50% of the sale from every gift box will be donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
• Craving chocolate? Try the Chocolate Rx Assortment (12 oz.) from b.sweets and 20% of your online sale will also go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation
• Purchase a bottle of Clinique's limited-edition Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion and you'll not only have super soft skin but $10 of your purchase will support The Breast Cancer Research Fund
• "Save the boobs" and shop The Silly Wagon boutique; 10% of its sales will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation
  

And this is just the tip of a very pink iceberg. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation has a detailed list of Pink Products & Programs. And if you know of any fabulous designers or companies offering special products this month please post a comment with the info (including a link if possible). We all love to shop and supporting a wonderful and worthy cause is a great excuse to do so! --Emily

can't we just skip mondays?

Why do we have to do Mondays? I find Mondays to often be the busiest, craziest days of the week. Perhaps it's the getting back on schedule after a two-day break or the cleanup after a weekend of fun...whatever it is I'd rather skip them all together. Today is no different except for one sweet moment.

Amidst the piles of laundry waiting to be done, my two older girls fighting (home from school for Columbus Day--thanks, Columbus), my little boy leaving a trail of Honeycomb from the kitchen to my bedroom, and the TV blasting Barney, I rocked my two-month-old to sleep. Instead of anxiously waiting for my baby to fall asleep so I could get on the computer and write today's post, I crept away from the chaos to the bedroom where I gently rocked her until her eyes closed, and then I continued to rock her, savoring the moment. I knew once I put her down for her nap my typical Monday would resume and I wasn't ready for it to do so. Of course it has, as I'm sitting here writing this post. But I can still feel her little head on my shoulder and the gentle swaying of the rocking chair and I feel like I might survive the madness that is my Monday. --Emily

ho hum or humdinger kind of day?

Do you suffer from SSDD syndrome? Chances are that you do. It stands for "Same Stuff Different Day" (okay, I had to tone that down a bit to make it "G" rated.) I know that we moms all suffer from SSDD from time to time. What to do? For some of us...okay it's me, we hit the sugar and carbs pretty hard, but for others it's playing games with their kids, or getting some exercise, or a good book. We would love to hear your comments and suggestions that turn your ho hum days into a humdinger day! For example:

Ho Hum: Waiting in the car with kids for this, that, and the other, about as much fun as nails down a chalkboard.

Humdinger: This homeschooling website offers great ideas for car games, activity books, and printable worksheets.

fresh from the garden...and off the press

I recently received my third batch of juicy tomatoes fresh from the garden. Not my garden, mind you. I have yet to turn my thumb green but my friends seem to have no problem getting vegetables to grow. I'm happy to share in the harvest! If you find yourself with more tomatoes than you're able to bottle try this tasty yet healthy recipe. It's quickly become a family favorite and it doesn't even use a cream-based sauce!

Linguine with Fresh Tomatoes
8 ounces uncooked linguine pasta (or your favorite type of pasta)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped (or lots of those yummy yellow and red cherry tomatoes!)
6 green onions, sliced
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 c minced fresh basil (or about 1 tsp dried)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2-3 T olive oil

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile combine tomatoes, onions, Parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper in large bowl. Drain pasta and toss with olive oil. Add to tomato mixture and toss to coat. Note: If using dried basil I would prepare the tomato mixture before the pasta so the basil has a little time to soften and add its flavor to the mix.

I did find with this recipe that by the time you toss everything together the pasta cools a bit so you may need to reheat it a little before serving. But this is truly and easy, healthy, and totally full-of-flavor recipe the whole family will love (even if the kids pick out the tomatoes).

Now for something totally unrelated to garden-fresh tomatoes. Our recent release about our new designs was picked up by Impressions, a Nielsen Business Media publication focusing on the decorated apparel business. Why am I sharing this seemingly uninteresting bit of news? Because we use PRWeb to distribute our press releases. PRWeb is a great tool for those with a limited PR budget such as ours. For a nominal fee (as little as $10) you can easily upload your release and once approved it will be picked up by leading online news sites like Yahoo! News, Google News, Ask.com and Topix. Plus they have a great SEO Wizard for premium placement in search results. If you're willing to pay a bit more for your release you can include embedded hyperlinks and even have your release distributed through an Associated Press feed to top circulation US newspapers.

Sounds boring? Well, for those of us who look for easy, affordable, effective ways to get our news out, PRWeb is a great choice. Their upload process is intuitive and painless and we've seen great results using the service. For us 'mompreneurs' with a mainly DIY (do-it-yourself) business, we can use all the easy, affordable, effective help we can get! --Emily

from evolution to onslaught

Most of us have already seen the amazing "Evolution" video from Dove where it shows the behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating a supermodel, from makeup to airbrushing. Well now Dove has a new video called "Onslaught," and if you haven't seen it I suggest you take the just over one minute to watch it. And then do what Dove's Real Beauty Ambassador (yes, they actually have an ambassador) suggested on today's Today Show and share it with your daughters. It creates the perfect opportunity for a discussion on "real beauty."

After checking out the video browse Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty website. I had no idea the resources they offer not only for girls (the Girls Only Interactive Self Esteem Zone) but moms and mentors as well. They offer tools, workshops and guides you can use at home or in your community. Don't think you need any of these resources? Catch the video from Dove's spot on The Today Show and think again. We'd love to hear your thoughts not only about Dove's Real Beauty campaign but also how you teach your own children to love the skin they're in. --Emily

Britain's got talent

...and it's in the form of Paul Potts, a mobile phone salesman from South Wales. I don't spend much time on YouTube but my husband and I have many friends who do. Once in a while they manage to filter through the hours upon hours of useless videos and find a true winner like the one I couldn't resist sharing with freshly baked readers. If you've already had the privilege of watching Paul Potts on Britain's Got Talent then you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, hold on to your seats. I refuse to say anything more or I might spoil the moment. Just be sure you're sitting down for the experience. Click on the link below and enjoy! --Emily

Paul Potts on Britain's Got Talent