Ever wish that when it came to designing your nursery, someone would just hand you a book with clear cut directions and a good place to start? Well?Ķ here you go! Nursery Style by Serena and Lily is not only a noteworthy publication for its tremendous help in getting parents started with their design ideas, but it is also a quality addition to your coffee table. Encompassing every aspect from defining your style to working with your flooring, this book covers it from top to bottom. Although the book focuses on four very Serena and Lily-ish nursery styles: Classic, Vintage, Modern, and Eclectic ?Äì a person would be hard pressed to not find at least one of these style (if not a blend) charming and ideal for their nursery needs. Organized in a logical flowing manner that makes each outlined design task seem easy, this book even outlines suggested color combinations to fit each style as well as boy, girl and gender neutral needs. Nursery Style is littered with gorgeous images that will inspire your wheels of creativity to spin just by looking at them alone. And this jump start of inspiration extends well beyond the nursery as many of the color palettes and themes are applicable to almost every room in the house. Happy summer reading!

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We can all appreciate the value of any toy that draws our children?Äôs attention outdoors and away from the T.V. these days?Ķ welcome to the cr?®me de la cr?®me. The aptly named Wishbone Bike by Skip Hop is a feat of design, functionality, and fun – and offers even more in the way of motor skills development and physical coordination. Without petals to inhibit your child?Äôs ability to balance, this bike then allows them to zoom along their merry way while slowly building up the confidence and skills required for a 2-wheeler. And for those ?Äúoff roading?Äù trips or for little ones who would rather have the security of training wheels – it?Äôs an easy add on. Did we mention the bike fits 1-5 years old and the seat can alternate to suit your growing child?Äôs needs? Oh yes, it can! So rarely does one come across a product that can truly grow with your child, and all the while magically incorporating physical entertainment and learning. And just to make you jump a bit more for joy, the Wishbone (and even its packaging!!) is eco-friendly. Our wish has certainly come true!

?ÄúCooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.?Äù ?Äì Harriet van Horne

Abandoning restraint in the kitchen or those fixed ideas of which ingredients should flavor your dishes can bring a surprisingly scrumptious outcome for your lucky recipients. Create a catalog of recipes featuring unexpected ingredients and breathe new life in to your cooking repertoire. We?Äôre huge fans of great recipes and recipe resources. If you have a tried and true recipe you?Äôd like to submit, a much loved recipe blog or book, we?Äôll try it, test it and possibly post it in our monthly gastronomic entry. This time, we want to share one of our own recipes. It?Äôs downright mouth-watering and never fails so fall in love with these Cinnamon Buttermilk Brownies. Buttermilk adds a pleasant tang to baked goods and the cinnamon spices it up. Bon Appetit!

Cinnamon Buttermilk Brownies

submitted by Wendy Estes

• Melt 1 cup butter, 4T cocoa and 1 C. water in saucepan
• Mix 2 C. flour, 1 ¬? C sugar, 1t. baking soda and ¬? t. cinnamon in a mixing bowl
• While mixing, add butter/ cocoa mixture
• Add 2 eggs, 1 t. vanilla and 1/2 C buttermilk (preferably Nielsen-Massey Madagascar Vanilla from Williams Sonoma )
• Pour in to a lightly greased and floured (or cocoa dusted) sheet cake pan and bake on 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Frosting
Melt 6 tablespoons butter and 4 T. cocoa, ¼ t. cinnamon in saucepan. Place in mixing bowl after melted and mix in about 24-32 ozs powdered sugar, alternating with buttermilk to desired consistency. Frosting should be smooth and light, not stiff.

Sunshiney color has made a comeback in a big way recently, and Maura Daniel has stood up and taken notice. This line of gorgeous lighting has charmed our homes for years now with their vintage inspired designs and playful use of color. Adding to their already unique pallet is Butter ?Äì a warm melt-in-your-mouth yellow that would look as brilliant in a kitchen as it would in a bedroom. Easy on the eyes, this color can brighten up any room and yet still stay subtle enough to match almost any d?©cor. Butter – the new neutral! And if you find yourself continually scouring your walls for space to put up a sconce, consider the Lulu. Offered in both a single and a double, this sconce is another charming addition. With the right amount of flowers and crystals, and the right amount of colored metal ?Äì the Lulu is both elegant enough for your formal dinner party and lighthearted enough to keep a smile on your face. Let this lighting shine in your home, and you may just find yourself shining back.

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Part of the fun of designing a space is challenging your creativity. Looking beyond the traditional design ideas we bring you this charming Window Treatment devised purely from ingenuity and impressive taste. Typical drapery rods can often be a daunting task to coordinate as they are as much a part of the window treatment design as is the fabric itself. The use of found or heirloom objects, in this case vintage-like doorknobs, puts a refreshing breath of new life into what could have been a typical window concept. They peak interest and become conversation pieces. And best of all the knobs themselves blend function with beauty and originality. What more could one ask for? The variations you could dream up for this concept are endless?Ķanything from coat hooks to candlesticks, antique bicycle petals to nautical instruments. Customized window panels can be made to suit your unique hardware with little effort by a good fabricator or seamstress. Try your hand at this design concept next time you are in the market for window treatments, and see what amazing idea you?Äôll think up next!

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To all the dear Mothers of the world ?Äì we take our hats off to you.

Before I was a Mom…
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom…
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn’t worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom…
I had never been puked on – Pooped on – Spit on – Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom…
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests…or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom…
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn’t want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn’t stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom…
I didn’t know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn’t know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn’t know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn’t know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom…
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn’t know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

You don’t really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around – and why his parents will always wave back.

Special Quotes for Mother’s Day by William D. Tammeus