Public Speaking Tips from a Champion

Public Speaking Tips from a Champion This year I have had some amazing opportunities to share my story, from small groups to enormous ones, from local television to national. I used to have serious, sometimes debilitating nerve bugs prior to speaking. The Silver Lining is that now, while the nerve bugs are certainly present, I do my very… Continue reading Public Speaking Tips from a Champion

Giving Tuesday 2014

Giving Tuesday 2014 Knowing that today is Giving Tuesday is a Silver Lining start to the day! Since Thanksgiving, we’ve had plenty of days focused on shopping with “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” but now it’s time for the feel good day…”Giving Tuesday”. I believe that it’s incredibly important to teach children about philanthropy early in life. By… Continue reading Giving Tuesday 2014

Gift Ideas: Brass Desk Accessories

Gift Ideas: Brass Desk Accessories Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been infatuated by anything and everything related to offices, from bookshelves to accessories. When I was a little girl, I remember going with my dad and sister to his office on Sunday mornings and being in heaven sitting at his… Continue reading Gift Ideas: Brass Desk Accessories

What Food Banks Need

On Thursday, the three of us (the HOTY, Excitedly Eight and I) are going to serve Thanksgiving Dinner at a homeless shelter in Santa Barbara. Now that Excitedly Eight is old enough, it is a tradition that we are going to begin not only annually, but monthly. I’m a huge believer in cultivating a philanthropic heart,… Continue reading What Food Banks Need

Gift Ideas Don’t Have to be a Puzzle

When Christian Lacroix designs a jigsaw puzzle, you acquire it. It doesn’t matter if you have barefoot tots running around the house or not. You buy it. End. Of. Story. I plan to put it to good use for many years to come. This two-sized tabletop activity is adorned with gold and silver foil accents… Continue reading Gift Ideas Don’t Have to be a Puzzle

Bookworm: Cy Twombly Paradise

If ever there were a wonderful new art book, it is Cy Twombly: Paradise. This book accompanies the much-anticipated 2014 exhibition Cy Twombly: Paradise, at Museo Jumex in Mexico City–the first time a comprehensive exhibition of the American artist’s work has been mounted in Latin America. It’s not likely that I’ll be in Mexico City to… Continue reading Bookworm: Cy Twombly Paradise

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

This weekend, we will be watching It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the third Peanuts special.  Oct. 27 marked the 48th anniversary of this iconic book!  I know that we will not be alone in watching it.  After all, in 2013, seven million viewers tuned in to watch Lucy, Linus, Charlie Brown and of course, Snoopy. This year, Peanuts devotees… Continue reading It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown