It’s never too early to start getting ready for Cinco de Mayo! Contrary to popular belief, the holiday is NOT Mexican Independence Day. That happens in September. The 5^th of May actually commemorates the day when a small Mexican army won a very unlikely victory over powerful invading French forces.

Before you mix up the margaritas and whip out the chips and salsa, here are a few fun facts about the holiday:

• The only major celebration of Cinco de Mayo in Mexico takes place in the village of Puebla, where the Batalla de Puebla took place.
• The world’s largest Cinco de Mayo party happens in the United States! The Festival de Fiesta Broadway in Los Angeles, draws more than 600,000 people each year.
• Margaritas were invented in 1938 by bartender Carlos Herrera. He whipped up the tangy treat for a dancer at his restaurant in Tijuana.

Now that you know, celebrate the culture and tradition of Mexico with food, fun, family and fiestas!

Your “Feliz Cinco de Mayo!” Gift Guru,
Linda

April 22 is the 45th anniversary of Earth Day. It’s a day when we celebrate our planet and everything it gives us.

Here are some fun ways to honor the Earth on its special day:

• Clean Up a Park or Beach! Lots of communities organize Earth Day clean-ups. Join one or call some friends and start your own. (Don’t forget to bring your water — in a reusable bottle.)
• Start a Garden! Grow your own herbs or veggies. You get fresh produce and the earth gets beneficial plants.
• Plant a Tree! Trees let the Earth breathe and filter groundwater. Plus, they’re habitat for birds and squirrels and other critters.

When you’re all finished, have a big Earth Day party! And don’t forget to clean up and recycle.

Your “Love Your Mother” Gift Guru,
Linda

Labels: april 22, earth, earth day, garden, little blue marble, recycling, trees

Thirteen 10-foot tall lighted letters that once adorned “Yankee Stadium” in New York went up for auction, but failed to attract a buyer according to Sotheby’s in London.

Made of aluminum and blue Plexiglas, most watchers expected the historic letters to sell for $300,000 - $600,000 at auction. But there were no takers.

The letters were installed in 1976 and remained there for 32 years. When a new stadium was built in 2008, the letters were purchased by former Yankee Reggie Jackson.

“This is not a piece of contemporary art that’s just been made. This is a piece of history. It was on the building for 30 years,” said a spokesperson for Sotheby’s. “It’s very hard to put a price on something like this.”

Maybe they’ll try to auction the pieces again. And maybe another famous former Yankee will step in and save them from the junk pile. (Hint-hint, Derek!)

Labels: auction, baseball, derek jeter, reggie jackson, sotheby's, yankee stadium letters, yankees

With the snow melting and spring springing, the pollen season is heating up fast.

Around our house it’s all watery eyes, runny noses and a symphony of sneezing and coughing. But did you know you can improve your indoor air quality with one simple solution?

Most toxic chemicals, dust and pollens inside your home are tracked in on people’s shoes. But a well-made doormat can trap and hold dirt and allergens, preventing their spread into the rest of the house, which not only improves indoor air quality, but also reduces the need for all that vacuuming and mopping!

If your doormats are worn or dirty, now is the time to replace them, shake them out and put them to work protecting your home from dirt, pollen and other nasty substances that stick to our shoes.

Your “Achooo!” Gift Guru,
Linda

Easter is one of our favorite holidays. There’s the egg decorating (super creative), the family dinner (super yummy) and, of course, lots of chocolate bunnies (just plain super!). But did you know:

• 90 million chocolate bunnies are made for Easter each year.
• Five million marshmallow chicks and bunnies are produced every day to get ready for Easter.
• 16 billion jelly beans are made for Easter (that’s enough to completely fill an 89 feet high and 60 feet wide plastic Easter egg – about the height of a nine-story office building!)
• The world’s largest jar of jelly beans weighed 6,050 pounds
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest Easter egg ever made was just over 25-ft high and made of chocolate and marshmallow. The egg weighed almost 9,000 pounds!

Please forgive me if this post made you crave some chocolate bunny ears (78% of people bite off the ears first). But after the egg painting and the Easter feast, chocolate bunnies, marshmallow chicks and jelly beans are my favorite thing about the holiday!

Your “Hoppy Easter!” Gift Guru,
Linda

Happiness is for sharing. And over at Soul Pancake, they really know how to share the happy. The people who brought you Kid President’s "20 Things We Should Say More Often" now bring you the most surprising way you never thought of to relax.

Their new video shows what happens when you pluck people at random off the street put them in a box of kittens. Yes, a box of kittens. People think they’re going into a mediation chamber of sorts to help them de-stress. But then dozens of tiny doors open and out come all these cute, cuddly, playful kittens. Watch:

It works on everyone from little kids to tough guys. A self-employed independent contractor who said his stress level was at about seven or eight before going in, came out smiling, saying, "You can’t be stressed after sitting in a box full of kittens." Agreed. No access to your own box full of kittens? Try virtual kitten therapy!

Your "Purr-fect Stress Relief" Gift Guru,
Linda

Gnomes used to live deep within the interior of the earth. But now they live everywhere. Especially in gardens. And since it's almost gardening season, I thought it would be nice to take a minute to honor the knowledgeable gnome.

Gnomes take their name from the Greek work for knowledge (gnosis) because — as the legend goes — they knew the exact location of valuable underground metals. The gnarly old men worked hard to guard the earth's treasure, but they had a reputation for being surly and ill-tempered.

Today the service they provide is making us smile. We put them in our gardens and yards. We take them on vacation and photograph them at bars, restaurants and tourist attractions. We treat them like friends. Which is, I think, a nice payback for all their years of hard work underground. Even though all that friendly treatment hasn't improved their attitude much!

Your "Getting to Know the Gnome" Gift Guru,
Linda