Guest post by Madison Hill

There was a time when gift giving was practically an art.

Great time, thought and effort went into the process. One would reflect on the recipient’s personality, lifestyle, character, and then spend days if not weeks looking for the one perfect gift that would reveal how much they thought of the person. You may be asking “who has the time to spend weeks looking for a gift?” I will agree with you that the time consuming art of gift giving seems to be reserved for the leisure class. Case in point…someone I know needed a gift for Mrs. Oscar de la Renta. Yes, THE de la Renta and the Queen of Chic. For weeks this woman agonized over what to send to this person who has everything. After great thought she realized they shared a love of raising hens. …read more

Little Girls Trying to Make a Big Difference

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with two spirited and charming young ladies, Daviana Englander and Emily Larabee, ages 10 and 11 respectively, who have founded Bow-Wow, Inc. for the sole purpose of raising money to for animal shelters.

Daviana and Emily, founders of Bow-Wow, Inc.

I met with the girls to gather clues as to why the started this venture, what their goals are, how they make their goods and how you can support their effort.

Daviana’s (Davi, for short) and Emily’s mothers had met years ago but the girls only became friends around 2008, when they met playing soccer.  From there the girls have clearly grown to be close friends.  (evidenced by goofy behavior that often arises when girls of 10 and 11 get together for an afternoon of interviews and smoothies – giggles, teeth chattering, talk of Guinea pig tutus, et cetera) …read more

Part of the wonder of gift giving is that you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to be thoughtful.  Little things that are meaningful and sweet can have a huge impact.  Now, I would say that this falls under the category of “surprise” more than “present” but both surprises and presents are something given to a person to show you care (a.k.a. GIFT!). Note: when I say “surprise” I mean a token gift – not like a surprise party or startling someone!

I found these cute little conversation hearts, otherwise known as Sweethearts at, where else?, my local Paper Source.

Of  course Sweethearts are readily available at most grocery stores, convenience stores and anyplace else that is usually well stocked with Valentine candy at this time of year…but …read more