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Disorganized drawers be gone

August 24, 2011 By Tori 1 Comment

Anytime we get a phone call, email, or post from a satisfied customer, we do the happy dance here at Daily Grommet. We especially love to hear how our Grommet discoveries make their way into your lives — a gift happily received or a problem solver that makes your day-to-day lives a bit more enjoyable. A couple weeks ago, we got one of those emails from Julia Wright, a professional organizer. She wanted to tell us how she’s been using Drawer Decor to help  clients who want to take back their drawers and clean out the clutter. Not only does Julia reaffirm how useful Drawer Decor is, but we’re thrilled to know she’s passing along this wonderful Grommet story.

Here’s the note Julia sent us:

Hi Daily Grommet:  I’m a Professional Organizer, and when I saw the Drawer Decor on your site, I was blown away. It solves so many organizing problems, and offers such a nice bright pop of color in a drawer that it really makes life better.

I suggested Drawer Decor to a client who purchased the item and I was able to install it with ease. The grid system made it very easy to cut to fit. My client was over the moon about the colors, especially for the bathroom. The fact that they’re silicone is the greatest feature, because it stops things from moving around in the drawer; everything stays in its place. The attachments that come with it are so well thought out, and I particularly liked the triangle shaped ones for holding round cups.

We’ll be purchasing this for our own homes as well as continuing to recommend it to all of our clients. Thanks for introducing it to Genius Organizing.

Here are some before and after pics:

Bathroom drawer [Before]:

how to organize drawersBathroom drawer [After]:

how to organize drawers - BathroomCosmetics drawer  [Before]:

Cosmetics drawer [After]:

Looks great – thanks for sharing your Grommet success pictures with us, Julia.

We love hearing about how our Grommet finds fit into your everyday lives… keep the stories coming!

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes at Daily Grommet, Featured Tagged With: ,

3 Great Tech Tools for Busy Moms at Back-to-School

August 15, 2011 By Guest Leave a Comment

What’s a busy mom to do? Tech to the rescue! Guest blogger Carissa Rogers is here to share time saving tips just in time for that back-to-school rush!

by Carissa

August supplies meteor showers, hot afternoons and the crazy of back to school time! Shopping for school clothes, school supplies and plenty of worrying about class schedules or the perfect-fit teacher are enough stress for any mom to handle. What a mom doesn’t need is more stress about her OWN schedule.

Food On The Table

Throughout the summer, it’s easy to fly by the seat of your pants when it comes to meal time. A hot dog at the pool or nachos at the ballpark work May through July, but once the school year sets in, you need a plan to sit down and enjoy meal time together. Food on the Table is a mobile app that helps you plan meals around the sales at your local grocery stores with quick, kid-friendly recipes and an organized grocery list.

VolunteerSpot

The last things you need on the first day of school are multiple clipboards of sign up for this, list your email for that. Imagine a free online sign up sheet where long reply-all email chains are a thing of the past! With VolunteerSpot, a room mom or teacher quickly sets the schedule of needs and parents sign up to help with a tap on a smartphone or click of a mouse – it will even remind them before the event. Magic!

VolunteerSpot is terrific for organizing classroom readers and parties, your library and carnival volunteers, soccer snack schedules and tournaments, or just about any other parent supported activity. Be sure to tell your child’s room mom to check out VolunteerSpot.com! And best of all, because it’s so easy to sign up to help, MORE parents get involved and that makes less stress for all of us!

*You can even jump over to VolunteerSpot’s facebook page for a chance to WIN $500 in School Supplies for your favorite school!

Cozi

When the kids head back to school, they also head back to sports schedules, music lessons, school projects, you name it. Which means parents head back to the mad scramble involved in making sure everyone gets dropped off and picked up (with the right gear in hand), not to mention volunteer stints, PTA events, birthday parties, teacher appreciation duties and so much more. If you try to remember and take care of all this yourself, your head might explode.

Cozi gives you a place to park your whole family calendar in one place, so everyone can see it – whether from a computer, a smartphone, or a tablet like the iPad. No need to sync; since all your family’s schedule (and lists) are shared in one account, everyone sees the same thing. Add an appointment, input the school calendar, even include all the times and locations of the soccer schedule – including notes like “bring the potluck dessert” or “meet at the front gate”.

Back to school can be a calm and fun experience for everyone. Jump in with these techy tools to get your mom-world organized and take out the stress!

……………..

Do you have any back to school tips to share? We’d love to hear how you stay organized!

About the author: Carissa Rogers is a busy mom of 3 and blogs at GoodNCrazy.com and VolunteerSpot. When she’s not playing photographer, dancing up a storm, leading the PTO, or chasing kids to and fro she’s connecting, consulting, freelancing and lots of other ings …a mom of all trades.

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Daily Grommet sandwich throwdown?

August 11, 2011 By Tori 3 Comments

As the Community Manager here at Daily Grommet, I spend a good part of my day on Facebook chatting with our great fans and friends. I’m always delighted to see how eager our Facebook crowd is to jump into the conversation, whether we’re taking a poll, asking for opinions, or just bantering back-and-forth. Because I know our Facebook community especially loves talking about food, I decided to ask everyone to name their favorite sandwich (August is National Sandwich Month after all). In a matter of seconds, the responses were flying in. From traditional favorites to more adventurous recipes, it’s obvious our Facebook crowd is all about their sandwiches.

Take my conversation with one of our members, Al …

It’s not like Al was calling me out for a challenge (no, I’m not competitive at all really), but I just couldn’t let Al down. So, I decided to test this famous recipe out for myself.

peanut butter and bacon sandwich

The ingredients: Bacon, bread (no sourdough on hand, so I went with wheat), and creamy peanut butter — as per Al.

At this point I was a little lot skeptical. I am not a big bacon fan (I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority here) BUT I do love peanut butter, so who knows?

peanut butter and bacon sandwich

After cooking up the bacon, I assembled the sandwich. At this point I was thinking, “am I getting this right?”

peanut butter and bacon sandwich

And there she is. Bread, peanut butter and bacon. Do we call this a PB-B? Okay, and now for the moment of truth…

Not too bad Al, not too bad.

Now, who is up for making some of the other favorites sandwich recipes? Did you see Heather C.’s favorite? Tuna fish and banana — I’ll let you all test that one!

Filed Under: Behind the Scenes at Daily Grommet, Featured Tagged With: , ,

How does your garden go?

July 14, 2011 By Jeanne Leave a Comment

If you watch the Grommet videos very closely, you might occasionally spot the Lexington Farmers Market in the background – it’s the perfect setting to shoot some video for stories like ChicoBags (creator of reusable produce bags). Every Tuesday, from early summer into the fall, dozens of farmers and artisans set up shop on our village green, just across the way from Daily Grommet headquarters. And last Tuesday, Donna, Daily Grommet’s master of finance, headed over to meet Charlie, “the Boston Truck Farmer.”

It turns out, the guys who produced the award-winning PBS documentary, “King Corn” had started a new movement last year by growing a garden right in the bed of their old Dodge truck and driving it around to urban farm sites. This year, there’s a fleet of 25 trucks scattered across the country doing the same — and Charlie, from Arlington, MA,  is the Boston truck farmer.

Charlie will be visiting 25 sites throughout the season, and we’ll be watching for the next time he’s back in our neighborhood so we can check in on his garden’s progress.

lexington farmers market

I especially like how these guys describe what they’re doing as a “mobile community farm” … as well as a “public art and education project.”

You can take a look at  www.truck-farm.com to see if there’s a truck farm in your neighborhood and find out more about this cool project.

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Grandparents.com is back with a great offer!

April 6, 2011 By Sara Leave a Comment

“When all else fails, ask Grandpa” should be on a wall plaque in my house. My kids adore their grandparents and vice versa! And what’s not to love? We also love the site Grandparents.com dedicated just for, you guessed it, grandparents!

We like Grandparents.com’s smiling vibe as a resource and haven for today’s grandparents who are more active, more involved and more connected to their grandchildren than any other generation of grandparents.  According to the NY Times, the downturn in our economy has caused the role of grandparents as both caregivers and financial supporters to increase dramatically. We’re glad to see sites like Grandparents.com be a place for grandparents to hang out and share laughs, ideas, gripes, passions and inspiration.

Our friends at Grandparents.com are all about helping grandparents and fostering and nurturing the relationship between grandkids and their grandparents. They do this in a really fun, lighthearted way. Each day they dish up creative activities, crafts, travel and gift ideas, expert advice, and conversation. They host affinity forums where grandparents can exchange ideas and opinions on whatever’s on their minds. They have groups like “Mothers-in-law Anonymous” where you can dish or ask for advice about the mother/daughter-in-law relationship. “Grandparents Caring for Grandkids” and “Grandparenting from Afar” are super support groups, and there are groups around hobbies, health and wellness, education, money, you name it, they’ve got a group of people talking about it!

Grandparents.comWe’ve checked out their newest resource, the Benefits Club that serves up great deals that grandparents and their families can use. Membership in the Benefits Club gives access to discounts and incentives on everyday products and services and on bigger items like travel and vacations. Jeffrey Mahl is the president of Grandparents.com and is here with us today for a Q & A and to give our Daily Grommet community a free gift!

Jeffrey, Grandparents.com is the go-to site for grandparents these days. Can you tell us a little bit about today’s grandparents?

Today’s grandparents are more dynamic and healthy than those of the past, and there are more of us alive now than at any other point in history. People over the age of 50 control 75% of the wealth in the United States. They tend to spend generously on their families and themselves, but they like to spend wisely, too. That was a primary motivation for us to create the Benefits Club. We think AARP has done a great job but they were created 50 years ago, for seniors of the past – not for the boomer generation. We provide a more modern alternative. We like to think of ourselves as AARP with a smile!

The Benefits Club looks great, what kinds of deals are included?

We have more than 160 partners in the Benefits Club and we’re adding new partners every day. Our members can save on travel, with great discounts on cruises, hotels and car rentals, on gifts – whether it’s toys and clothes for the grandkids or flowers and jewelry for a friend. They can enhance their health with vitamins, gym memberships, weight loss programs and spa services. They can buy books and theatre tickets. We also have great giveaways that are available exclusively to our members. And we offer discounts on insurance, too. We just added our first insurance partner – Foremost, which offers great ways for our members to insure RVs, motorcycles and boats, among other things. Basically, we’re focused on creating a place where our members can get discounts on things they need as well as things they want.

Sounds like the Benefits Club is a pretty good deal for everyone, not just grandparents. Can anyone join and tell us how extended families can use it as well?

I’m so glad you asked this question! You don’t have to be a grandparent or be any particular age to join the Benefits Club. Membership is open to anyone. Our mission, as you said earlier, is to nurture the relationships between generations. So when you join the Benefits Club, you’re automatically entitled to share that membership – for free – with four additional family members. How’s that for something to smile about?!

Jeffrey, we’d love to hear about your generous offer to give ourDaily Grommet community a free one-year subscription to the Benefits Club.

My pleasure. For the next 90 days, anyone in the Daily Grommet community is welcome to sign up for a free one-year membership to the Benefits Club. You don’t need a credit card; just log onto Grandparents.com, click on the Benefits Club and use the promo code GrandGrommet. And you’re welcome to share this offer with your friends and family, too. We’d love to have you as part of the Grandparents.com family.

Jeffrey, thanks for talking with us about the Grandparents.com Benefits Club and for the free memberships.

If you have any questions or comments about the Benefits Club, Jeffrey is around to talk with us today.  Just leave a question/comment below. Thanks!

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Hidden Secrets of Savannah

March 31, 2011 By Claire 3 Comments

For me, a staunch northerner, coming to Savannah for college was like being a fish out of water. Having grown up in Washington DC all my life, I was coming to a city where the pace nowhere near matches that of our capitol city and where buildings tend to be smaller, not taller.

However, once I got over the heat (even in February!) and the occasional whiff of the nearby paper mill – reminding us all of its presence – I discovered Savannah’s many hidden gems. They’re not on the top of every tourist’s list, but to me, they really encapsulate Savannah’s character.

What to do in Savannah - Forsyth Park

Forsyth Park

One of my favorite areas of Savannah is one that is free of charge – Forsyth Park. Located in the heart of the historical district, Forsyth Park covers 30 acres and dates back to the 1840s. Whether you want to sit and relax or play with a Frisbee, Forsyth is the perfect place to do so. With two beautiful fountains, a stage, tennis courts and a basketball court, Forsyth always has a plethora of activities happening. Jazz festivals, outdoor concerts and movies in the park are just a few of the city organized events that have happened there; just walking through under the overhanging Spanish moss gives you a sense of calm.

Zunzi's always crowded entrance way

It is the South, so food does play a huge part in Savannah’s culture. When you think of Savannah, the food that comes to mind is usually grits, biscuits and gravy. However, whenever I miss food in Savannah, I always want Zunzi’s. The food that they serve is nothing short of extraordinary; a mix of South African, Swiss, Italian and Dutch cuisine, Zunzi’s never fails to impress. They say you know how good the food is by how long the line is – walking by Zunzi’s, I always see the line snaking out the door.

Gallery Espresso's inviting exterior

If you’re not in the mood for a lot of food (which Zunzi’s always gives you), then make sure you stop by the neighborhood coffee shop, Gallery Espresso. Gallery is not the only coffee shop in Savannah, but it’s my favorite. I always see people I know there (which may be a bad thing when I’m trying to do homework!), no matter what time of day it is. Although I’m not a coffee drinker, Gallery always has something I want to try; from their hot chocolate to their quiches. One of my favorite things to do is to sit in one of their comfy chairs with a book – it’s a relaxing way to spend an afternoon if I don’t have any pressing need to be somewhere.

what to do in Savannah

The Starland's wonderful backyard seating

The last place in Savannah that I will introduce you happens to be a little off of the beaten path. Located a couple minutes from downtown, the Starland Café is one of my favorite places to eat lunch. Right next to the Savannah dog park, the Starland’s bright orange exterior is what immediately draws your attention. Just sitting and eating in their back patio takes you away from the rest of Savannah; it’s as if you are sitting in your own backyard talking to your neighbors. The food…oh, the food! I don’t think I’ve tried anything there that I didn’t like. From their amazing Panini’s to their delicious salads, I don’t think you will be disappointed.

I hope that by telling you a little bit about some of my favorite places in Savannah, many of you will be able to experience the city as I have! Even if you’ve been to Savannah before, you may not have discovered these places. For those who haven’t, maybe it will inspire a trip down South!

Filed Under: Discoveries, Featured Tagged With: , ,

Need an allergy friendly restaurant? Visit Allergy Eats

August 2, 2010 By Tori 1 Comment

As families enjoy more free time this summer, they’re likely to be eating out, either in their hometowns or while traveling during summer vacation. Allergy Eats, a new, fast-growing, interactive website, is a valuable resource, helping people with food allergies find allergy-friendly restaurants, whether they’re dining close to home or hitting the road for summer adventures.

I recently chatted with Paul Antico, founder of AllergyEats.com who started this online community because:

“When I take my family out to eat, sometimes we have trouble finding restaurants that will accommodate my children’s food allergies,” [and] “I knew we weren’t the only family facing these challenges, and I vowed to make it easier for people with food allergies to find safe restaurants.”

Paul Antico (center) with his son Keegan, 8, on his left. Keegan is allergic to tree nuts, peanuts, dairy, eggs, and sesame. On his right is his son Tucker, 13, who is allergic to tree nuts.

Paul, what surprised you most as you began developing www.AllergyEats.com?

Since I began developing AllergyEats two years ago, the biggest surprise has been the unity of the food allergy community. There is a large online and offline food allergy community made up primarily of passionate individuals like myself who have been affected (directly or indirectly) by food allergies. People who have decided to commit their time in order to help make living with food allergies easier. The support within this community is terrific. Where I once thought I would be creating AllergyEats “in a bubble,” I have now found that I have a network of wonderful people I can call on for advice, support, criticism, and anything else. The feeling is that we are all in this together and to the extent that one person’s efforts succeed, we all win.

What has been the most rewarding part of helping the allergy community?

The most rewarding part of creating AllergyEats is very simple. It is the emails that people send thanking me for doing this and letting me know that AllergyEats is making a difference in their lives. Each time I receive one of these emails, I picture a smiling child enjoying an “exciting dining experience” (because that is what it is to them) and I can’t help but smile too. That is the greatest reward for me.

Allergy Eats offers free membership and access to a national database of well over 600,000 restaurants. The site combines the best of Internet technology with peer-to-peer feedback to help people know in advance how well (or poorly) a restaurant responds to people with food allergies.

Thank you Paul for sharing Allergy Eats with us. We know that you are positively impacting the lives of many families. Keep up the important work!

For more information visit http://www.AllergyEats.com

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Forming new relationships, one tweet at a time

June 29, 2010 By Tori Leave a Comment

Remember we told you about a Twitter party we were planning? Well it happened last night and it was fantastic! Talk about passion: We were joined by so many enthusiastic friends and followers for a free-flowing discussion about small business. We talked about starting, growing, and supporting wonderful small businesses and ended up forming meaningful relationships as a result of this chat.

So we’d especially like to thank the community panelists who helped us lead the chat: @girlfriendology @indiebizchicks @LizzieBTV and @timeoutmom. And another big shout out to the moderators: @jylmomIF  @troypattee and @momitforward.

 We even had several Grommets join in the discussion to share their ideas and mingle online (great to see you all: @mabelhood,  @momfluential, @PeopleTowles and @HammocksHighTea)
 

We’re really looking forward to getting to know each and every one of the folks we connected with last night. Be sure to tweet us and keep in touch!

Also,  everyone has until Wednesday (June 30, 2010 at midnight ET) to enter to win the $200 Apple gift card and Aquapac giveaway.

And since we look to you, our great community, for Grommet ideas… we’re hoping you’ll send us lots of new Grommet ideas. As Jules tweeted

So… what are you waiting for? We want to hear about the products YOU love!

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Gardening… a community of growth (we hope!)

April 9, 2010 By Tori 1 Comment

With Spring’s arrival, many of us here at Daily Grommet have an itch to get in the garden. Whether you’re a novice gardener or a seasoned pro, it seems gardening is always a learning process. Jen Wallace, founder of www.IndieFixx.com, knows this all too well. She shares some of her experiences with us and offers a way to make gardening a bit more enjoyable.

by Jen Wallace

So, I’m a pretty new gardener … last year was my first year at it, and one thing I’ve learned is that gardening in a vacuum is not a good idea. You need to connect with other gardeners. Both for the information, but also to share your accomplishments and your defeats. There’s nothing better than sharing your garden’s growth with others; and conversely, only another gardener knows the heartache of losing all one’s tomato plants (something that happened to a lot of us last summer).

To that end, I share a lot of my gardening experiences on my blog Indie Fixx and I’ve also started a Gardening Flickr Group as a way for all of us gardeners to connect and share images of our hard work. So, whether you have a large backyard plot, just have a few herbs in pots, plant vegetables or just flowers, come share with us! 

Here are a few recent highlights from the group. 

Thanks for sharing your gardening  journey with us, Jen, and for helping to build a community around a shared loved for gardening. I was so pleased to learn about Jen’s flickr gardening group that I joined too! Like Jen, I’m a new gardener, so I’m thankful to have found a community  to learn and share with.

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Daily Grommet on Yahoo! Shine

May 14, 2009 By Barbara 1 Comment

Shine imageThere’s a lot of Yahoo!-ing going on here today. Yahoo! Shine is now featuring Daily Grommet on its “Manage Your Life” channel, and we’re ecstatic to be partnered with this phenomenal force for women on the web.

If you aren’t a part of the Yahoo! Shine community, you should check it out.  The site is celebrating its one-year anniversary, and we share its editors’ vision that women are interested in more than just celebrity gossip and how to look good in a bathing suit.  Here’s a little something from their “About Us” page:

We women are presently experiencing something very cool happening in our culture and Shine intends on being a part of it. We no longer need to stand by passively as the media portrays us as fashion-obsessed diet victims. With the internet as our megaphone, we can now portray ourselves as funny, opinionated women who are in charge of our incomes, careers, families and happiness.

We just love ishine screen shott.

And since so many of our discoveries truly help our own community manage their lives better, Yahoo! Shine will feature a few Grommets each week.  Special thanks to Dory Devlin, who wrote a lovely welcome  to us as her Editor’s Pick post today, too.

So, to Dory and her colleagues at Yahoo! Shine, here’s an online toast from our offices to yours. Cheers! We look forward to a wonderful partnership.

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