YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    • Source: 6 Smart Add-Ins For Your Next Smoothie

      If your diet is lacking in enough nutrients, adding a smoothie to your diet can help immensely. Toss any of these six ingredients into your next smoothie along with your favorite fruits to get their nutritious benefits without sacrificing taste.

      • Broccoli: The fiber-rich vegetable helps keep you full without changing the taste of even your favorite smoothie combinations. You can use raw broccoli or steam it quickly first for a smoother consistency. This 330-calorie peanut butter, broccoli, and strawberry smoothie will keep you full throughout the morning.
      • Chia seeds: If you're looking to start the day right, add a tablespoon of chia seeds into every smoothie. The high-fiber seeds are also a great source of anti-inflammatory omega-3s, so you'll feel full and ready to take on your morning. A berry chia seed smoothie recipe masks the taste and texture of chia seeds if you're not a fan.
      • Green tea: Want a little energy boost in your
      Read More »from 6 Smart Add-Ins for Your Next Smoothie
    • Rocking Gnome Homes Rocking Gnome Homes This was such a fun project because I was able to involve my 4-year-old with every step of of the process. We spent the morning at our favorite exploring park and gathered stones together, carefully choosing the very best ones to bring home. Then, instead of cleaning the dirt off by myself, I filled up a tub with warm, soapy water, and the two of us sat outside in the sunshine and scrubbed our rocks clean with old toothbrushes. He thought that was the funniest thing in the world, by the way. Rocks don't have teeth! After our rocks dried off, we painted rocks together and turned them into these sweet little gnome homes. Once they were completed, it was fun to find special places in the garden to place the tiny gnome homes.

      Supplies
      Small rocks, cleaned and dry
      Acrylic paint
      Permanent marker
      Spray on varnish

      Related: 13 delightful dwellings for fairies and gnomes

      Directions

      1.Start with a clean, dry stone. Place the rock on a flat surface to see how it sits and the best orientation.

      2. Cover the

      Read More »from Gnome's Sweet Home! Make a Rocking Village for Your Garden

    • family with baby


      Splish, splash, slide! You're ready to introduce your child to the season's fun, but these carefree days can come with surprising risks for tots. Follow our stay-safe guide.

      By Sunny Sea Gold


      Last summer, my daughter Penny, then 11 months old, lost her appetite and was having a fussy spell when small, flat, blisters appeared on the soles of her feet. That's when I realized she had the summer baby virus I'd been warned about: Coxsackie, also known (less appealingly) as hand, foot, and mouth disease. Her doctor confirmed it and explained that the blisters were also in Penny's mouth and throat, so no wonder she was off meals. The virus would take about five days to run its course, and infant pain reliever would help soothe her.

      While grown-up bugs typically don't circulate in summer, baby-centric germs do. "There are certain viruses that thrive in the late spring and summer that young children are most vulnerable to," says Alicia Brennan, M.D., a pediatrician at the CHOP Pediatric Care

      Read More »from Summer Safety Tips
    • Calling all shutterbugs: May is National Photography Month! If you're ready to capture your pregnant glow on film, take a look at these beautiful maternity photos to show to your maternity photographer to spark some ideas. I've rounded up some truly gorgeous finds from around the country… which one will be your favorite? - By Keiko Zoll

      MORE ON DISNEY BABY

      10 ways to feel beautiful during pregnancy

      7 creative ways to document your pregnancy

      10 amazing facts about pregnancy that you may not know

      Read More »from Show Us Your Bump! 7 Maternity Photo Ideas You Haven't Seen
    • This beautiful summer makeup look is yours in 5 minutes flat!I'm writing this post from one of the hottest places in the world: Phoenix, Arizona. So, if there's anyone who's familiar with wearing makeup in hot climates where there's a 90% chance of sweating, it's me. In other words, I know how to make sure your makeup doesn't melt off your face. And no, you don't need to spend 30 minutes in front of the mirror to get the look!

      Of course there are many other desert-dwelling women who are qualified, but I'm breaking things down for those of you who are busy and have only but 5 minutes to spare for your morning face routine.

      Minute 1: Prep
      Prep that pretty face of yours, ladies. In the mornings, especially when it's hot, I like to rinse my face with cool water and gently damp dry. Once you're all dry, apply a face primer with clean fingertips. This helps minimize pores and creates a smooth surface for any foundation. If you don't wear foundation, skip this step.

      Minute 2: Even Complexion
      Summers mean hot weather. And for some of you, it means humid and

      Read More »from The Five-Minute Summer Makeup Routine
    • Photo: Bicycle Bob/ Creative CommonsI love cozy nights, walking in sock feet from the dinner table to the couch to watch movies or snuggle and talk. After darting around to work events all week, volunteering at school and running to soccer practices, most of the time I just want to stay home.

      Read More: Schedule a Regular Date Night with Your Sweetie

      Since Trey and I blended our families five and a half years ago, he's been resolute about the necessity of date nights. No excuses, once a week. Over the years I've become a believer. Date nights are vital to our marriage. We reconnect and talk to each other without our conversation being drowned out by whining. Yes, we talk about the kids, but we also talk about our future and our work. Here are five tips for figuring out date nights even when the odds are stacked against you.

      Read More: 10 Cheap and Easy Kid-Free Date Night Ideas

      1. Consider a babysitting swap. If a few willing girlfriends team up, you can alternate who gets to stay home with the kids and who goes out. There

      Read More »from 5 Smart Date Night Ideas for when You Can't Afford an Expensive Dinner
    • Out, out! Darned, spot!Out, out! Darned, spot!

      You know what they say: The unsoiled life is not worth living. Fine, we made that up, but we can all agree that life is more fun when we aren't panicking over lipstick smears and condiments gone rogue. A stain can be a bummer, but don't let it ruin your day -- or your top. Get our fixes for ketchup splatters, wine dribbles, pen marks, and more.

      Chopping Block

      A hot stove is a hotbed for cooking-related stains. If grease is the culprit -- think butter, oil, or mayonnaise -- first, treat the area with a dry solvent. Using an eyedropper, rinse with isopropyl alcohol; dry well. Spray a dish-soap solution on any remaining residue and soak the item in an enzyme detergent before washing.

      Proteins such as blood and egg require a different fix. Should a runaway yolk or a chopping mishap leave you with damages, spray a dish-soap solution on the stain and let it sit before rinsing in tepid water. If a stain remains, treat the area with an enzyme detergent and wash according to

      Read More »from 7 Secrets for Removing Stubborn Stains
    • By Louis DeNicola, Cheapism.com

      The best way to get a good deal is to shop around, right? But running from store to store can gobble up time and gas. That's where price matching comes in: Top retailers from Best Buy to Walmart have pledged to match competitors' prices, so you can get the best deals from around town with only one stop. Problem is, these guarantees are far from straightforward. Cheapism recently examined eight retailers' price-match policies and found scads of rules and exclusions. Here are seven things every bargain shopper should know about price matching.

      Related: Which retailers offer the best price matching policies?

      1. Most policies require the competitor to be a local store, but what qualifies as "local" may be up for debate. Retailers tend to leave it to store managers familiar with the area to decide what lies within the same market or within a "reasonable distance." Best Buy sets a specific radius of 25 miles, while JC Penney in Alaska will match the prices of

      Read More »from 7 Keys to Successful Price Matching
    • DIY Hanging Paper Organizer

      By Woman's Day StTurn an old frame and some burlap into a pretty, practical catchallaff

      From WD's Pinterest boards

      Use it to keep reminders, invitations and bits of inspiration in sight-and out of that stack on your desk.

      The crafter Artist Emily Boan sells repurposed vintage pieces at local boutiques in Charlotte, NC, and through her Etsy shop. Photo by: Alison Gootee/Studio D; Craft & prop styling by Shana Faust.

      TIME
      3½ HR
      COST $32

      Materials

      · Decorative frame

      · Scissors

      · Several yards of burlap

      · 1 piece of mounting board, cut to fit frame

      · Spray adhesive

      · Craft knife

      · 3 pieces of self-adhesive mounting board, each cut to fit the frame width and about ¼ its height

      · Pencil or pen

      · Heavy-duty adhesive

      · Hot-glue gun and sticks

      · Books or clamps

      · Staple gun, staples

      1. Remove glass or backing from frame.

      Related:
      Discover 15 clever uses for common household items.

      2.
      Cut a piece of burlap to cover the top ⅓ of the mounting board, leaving an extra 1" at the board edges. Spray this section of the board and the burlap piece with adhesive and press the Read More »from DIY Hanging Paper Organizer
    • Which Is Healthier: Juicing or Smoothies?By Brierley Wright, M.S., R.D., Nutrition Editor, EatingWell Magazine

      Juicing and smoothies are all the rage right now. While both can boost your fruit and vegetable intake (something most Americans need to do) and are great for getting a variety of produce into your diet, one is the better choice.

      That's the smoothie. Why? Juicing leaves behind a pulp--which contains fiber and nutrients that you end up tossing away--and thus you lose most of the benefits of whole fruits and vegetables. Blending produce into a smoothie, however, preserves fiber--and a smoothie can deliver an extra boost of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals because it often includes fruit skins and pith. If your smoothie includes yogurt or milk, you get some calcium too. Blending, however, introduces oxygen and sometimes heat, which will knock out a little vitamin C and some B vitamins. (No big deal really, as most of us get plenty of C and produce isn't a top source of the most sensitive B vitamins.) Add these 6

      Read More »from Which is Healthier: Juicing or Smoothies?

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