Unplug in Arkansas’ Ozark Mountains [PHOTOS]

Heather relaxes on a beautiful Ozark morning

The Ozark mountains are a restful destination where we love to reconnect with nature and good friends.
(Photo by Jathan Fink, Jadeworks Entertainment)

We love our friends in Texas, but sometimes the chaos of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex is enough to drive anyone batty. That’s when we know it is time to escape to the mountains. Read more of this post

Six Ways to Show You Love Your Library

Heather at Portland Public Library

Heather visits the moose at the Portland Public Library in Maine. (Photo by Jathan Fink, Jadeworks Entertainment)

Last week may have been National Library Week, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t show love to your local library the other fifty-one weeks of the year. Whether you’re a bibliophile who knows each librarian by name or someone who hasn’t stepped into a library since catalogs were in a big wooden chest with thousands of index cards inside, here are some ways to make the most of your local library now.  Read more of this post

Keep Calm, Slow Down and Open Yourself Up to Life’s Little Pleasures [REVIEW]

Cyclists relaxing

Dr. Barbara Ann Kipfer knows all kinds of ways we can relax. She shares them with us in her new book, 1,001 Ways to Slow Down. (Photo by Björn Söderqvist, Flickr)

Author Jane Austen once said, “Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings.” This comes from a woman who was born in 1775, long before the Information Age, which has whipped all of us into a frenzy, hurtling us through life at the speed of light. Cell phones. Twitter. The Internet. Twenty-four hour news cycles. It gets to the best of us, which is why I love the new book, 1,001 Ways to Slow Down: A Book of Everyday Calm. Here, bestselling author Barbara Ann Kipfer reminds us about all the many ways to unwind.  Read more of this post

Crowds Come Out In Droves For Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day [PHOTOS]

We’ve always loved Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry’s, and it’s the same no matter where we go. This year we went out to Cape Cod to celebrate the occasion at the store in North Eastham, and even in the off season, we weren’t alone. Read more of this post

Discover Homemade Italian Flavor Right On Your Grocer’s Shelf [VIDEOS]

Visitors to my home are frequently surprised to find an absence of prepared foods when they look in my pantry. But after a recent trip to the grocery store, that suddenly changed when I discovered a new brand of Italian products called Bove’s. Read more of this post