4 Ways to Make Your Resolution Stick

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It happens every year – you make a New Year’s resolution and by February you’ve forgotten about it. It happens to the best of us – but it doesn’t have to be that way. It’s the way that you’re making your resolutions that is probably setting you up for failure. So here’s a checklist to make sure that you stick with your New Year’s resolution this year:

1. Make It Attainable: If you make your goals too unrealistic or broad you will never reach them and you’ll be disappointed. For instance – don’t say you want to run 10,000 miles this year if you don’t have the time or resources to do it. Instead vow to run two miles a day, five times a week – this is much more attainable and you’ll feel satisfied when you’re able to reach that goal. Read more

Checklist for the Perfect Pet

I’ll never forget when I was in third grade and we got a puppy for Christmas! I had basically been asking for one everyday for over a year. Finally my parents gave in and surprised me — it was one of the best holiday gifts I’ve ever gotten (aside from my engagement ring 🙂 ) Buttons was my best friend and partner in crime for sure!

But not everyone should become puppy parents over the holidays — it’s a stressful time and because a pet is going to become a member of your family…it’s an important decision. I’ve asked Aaron Hill, a certified professional animal trainer and the owner of Pets in the City, to give us some tips on picking the perfect pet. For my own personal choice, I’d highly recommend using a dog walking service. When I was in Seattle, I used PugetPets as a way to make sure my doggie got some much-needed exercise each and everyday. Read more

Checklist for Getting on the Guest List

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Do you know someone who is always booked doing something? Every night of the week there is a gallery opening or cocktail party that he or she is attending.

Thei Zervak – author of “Get Invited, Don’t Crash It: All You Need to Know to Make the Guest List” has a checklist to make you get get on the guest list so you can meet new people and have a great time. She’s also been kind enough to give away a copy of her book to the person who has the best comment! So make sure you tell us what you think! Read more

Check Off Your List With Gifts That Give Back

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One of the great pleasures of my job is working with Chris Kilham, Medicine Hunter. Chris is an alternative medicine expert who travels all over the world and has changed the way I think about medicine. In the three years that we’ve been working together on video segments I’ve also become friends with his fabulously savvy wife Zoe Helene. Like Chris she loves the outdoors and has a real respect for our environment. I thought she’d be the perfect person to help us find gifts that will give back this year.

Gifts That Give Back

by Zoe Helene

When Paula suggested I come up with a list of Gifts That Give Back, I knew the challenge would be to keep that list short. After collecting pages and pages of great stuff, I decided to keep this one focused on high quality traditional Christmas gifts that are also earth-friendly.

In the natural products industry we call that category ‘premium sustainable’. You might have heard it called ‘Luxury Eco,’ which is basically the thing. In a nutshell, these are high-end products that have produced in ways that are healthy for all parties along the chain of trade; and not just people, but planet, plants and critters too. Now that’s what I call true Christmas spirit. Read more

You Need A Wish List!

When people get married or have a baby they register for items they want or need. You don’t want mis-matched plates or decorations that don’t really go with your theme – so you tell people exactly what you need. It’s also smart because this way people won’t buy items that you already own. I think the same attention should be paid to holiday gift giving.

Why not make a wish list of all the things you’d like to receive so your friends and family have a guide? It will save time and money. Some etiquette experts might disagree but I think everyone could use a little help with their holiday shopping. Read more