Kristin van Ogtrop's Blog, page 415

Thank-You Notes: The Friend-of-Your-Mother's Edition

 

In the never-ending annals of thank-you note etiquette, one of the stickiest issues is what to do if you've sent a gift and not heard anything in response.

I call this the Friend-of-Your-Mother's phenomenon, because I've been made aware that my mother is not the only one to call her daughter (and sadly, it's usually a daughter, rather than a son -- see my blog post on June 3rd) and ask, "Did you get the gift Beverly sent you? She was just wondering..." Now many a daughter would interpret...

Finding Friends

Former Girl Scouts, sing it with me: "Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other's gold."

Have you ever wondered about this line? Are the old friends silver and the new friends gold, or vice-versa?  I've been thinking a lot about my old friends lately. You know, the ones I left behind when I moved two months ago? I've primarily been staying in touch with them over email and Facebook, and while technology enables me to still feel connected, the time has come for me to...

Motivational Links for August 26, 2010

I've been thinking a great deal about words that begin with the letter P lately -- productivity, promptness, and procrastination. The following articles are on the topic and really speak to getting motivated to unclutter and organize your home and office. Enjoy!
"Nine ways to never be late again" from DumbLittleMan.com"50 Photos to Inspire a Joyous and Vibrant Life" on HealthyLifestyleDesign.com. These are terrific reminders for why we want to get our home and work lives uncluttered and...

Fascinating Facts About the Common Cold

As summer turns to fall, thoughts slowly turn to the inevitable winter sniffles. Thanks to increasing time spent indoors in close contact with other people, plus the fact that the kids are back at school (where they can spread things around faster than you can say COVERYOURMOUHTWHENYOUSNEEZE), cold rates go up during the colder months.

And just in time is a brand new book by super-talented science writer Jennifer Ackerman, called Ah-Choo! The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold. The crazy thing...

Out of Control PDA From Bizarro Adults? Or Two People Who Are Just Really in...Love?

I haven't posted in a while because I've been on vacation and am now in my vacation mourning period, which may last for some time. Don't you think returning from vacation should involve some sort of decompression phase, like a slow ascent from deep waters to avoid the bends? You know, a few extra days "vacation" at home, time to adjust to the dog hair and the bored kids and the fact that you get so much junk mail?

Anyway, a dear colleague is leaving our company and last night I took him out...

Curbing Toy Clutter

A year ago today, I became a mother. I have a number of close friends with young children, so I wasn't under any delusions about the work involved with raising a little one. What I wasn't prepared for was how I would handle all of the toys other people gave to us (and continue to give to us) for our son.

First things first, you should know we are extremely grateful to have people in our lives who love our son and give him gifts. Their generosity is heartwarming and beautiful. We feel very...

Beauty Q & A: Hiding Dark Circles

I love it when you guys comment or ask questions in response to one of my blog posts. Your curiosity is absolutely contagious! (Whoever started that whole "curiosity killed the cat" thing was truly uninsightful.)

Well, to help a girl out, I'd like to answer reader Leigh's question from my post on the must-have picks of Melissa Silver, New York City makeup artist: "Is there anything you'd recommend for dark under eye circles?"

I went back to our talented artist to get her favorite concealers...

Editor's Pick: Fall 2010 Sperry Top-Siders

There are some super-exciting things happening at Sperry Top-Sider for fall 2010! Hold on to your mast...

The company was founded in 1935 by Paul Sperry, who was inspired by his dog Prince's ability to run nimbly over ice and snow. Taking a look at Prince's paws, Sperry noticed lots of cracks and lines going in all different directions. He mimicked this design on the bottom of his first boat shoe.

The original shoe (below) is still hugely popular and seen on everyone from New England...

This Dog Mom Welcomes You to the Pets Blog

Hi, I'm Jennifer Mirsky, former Managing Editor of RealSimple.com, then interim discussion leader of the No-Obligation Book Club, and now pets blogger for the site.

Did you see how people answered our poll asking if they had a pet?  Predictably, many have dogs or cats or a combination thereof. But there are more esoteric pet owners amongst us--some have ferrets and turtles and snails and snakes. And one readers says she has 12 pets! (either she must not live in a city or they must be very, ver...

Daisy Janie Organic Fabrics

Eco fabrics keep getting better and better! Jan DiCintio, founder of Daisy Janie, is a surface and textiles designer who just launched an organic modern fabric collection called Geo Grand. Geo Grand is bright and bold in 6 fresh patterns and colorways like aqua, sky, espresso, chartreuse and white. Jan's self-produced fabrics are 100% GOTS*certified organic cotton and are similar in feel/weight to quilters' cottons so you can use them for home decorating and crafts in addition to creating...