I'm thrilled to share another Local Gems post today (be sure to check out the Arlington Center, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Jamaica Plain, Lexington, Medford, and Watertown features)! Today's Easton recommendations come from my delightful friend Christina, who writes at The Fairly Odd Mother and Cool Mom Picks. Thanks for sharing these 10 local gems in Easton, Christina! (And if you want to submit a Local Gems feature, see details here!)

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Right next to the busy city of Brockton, Easton is a pretty, historically rich, tree-filled town I've called home for the last 14 years. It's a wonderful spot for kids with lots of safe outdoor spaces in which to roam, great schools, and a not-too-long drive to either Boston, Providence, or Cape Cod. Here are some of my family's favorite spots:

1. The Village Toy Shop. This is my go-to stop for all those birthday gifts my kids need for their friends, and also for awesome holiday shopping too. With free gift wrapping, it's clear how much this store is loved by all the matching gift wrap piled up at any child's birthday party.

2. Hilliards House of Candy. There is no bigger treat than a stop at Hilliards House of Candy, where my kids can scoop out their own assortment of goodies into bags while I check out their delicious boxes of salted caramel chocolates, roasted-on-site nuts, or adorable holiday chocolate lollipops. It's a great spot to stop in summer for a scoop of their own yummy ice cream too.

3. The Children's Museum in Easton. Easton's old historic fire station makes a wonderfully playful spot in which kids can explore, climb, learn, and play. Getting to the top of the old fire pole is a challenge for little arms, and their outdoor play space, The Wild Place, let's kids explore nature and maybe even get a little messy.

4. The Farmer's Daughter. The "it" place for breakfast or lunch on Main Street, The Farmer's Daughter works with local growers to create delicious masterpieces that have people lining up to experience. I like that even their kids' menu takes into account their focus on fresh and local ingredients.

5. Borderland State Park. The former stopping grounds of the rich and famous (notably, the Ames Family who donated much to the town), Borderland is truly a gem for everyone in the state. The park offers great hiking and biking trails, a sprawling disc golf course that is open to everyone, huge lawns for tag, a fun sledding hill, and picnic tables for when it's time to refuel.

6. Natural Resources Trust of Easton. Otherwise known as Sheep Pasture, the NRT exists as an educational center for the town, with chickens, sheep, and other livestock on site for kids to see, as well as easy walking trails to explore. The NRT puts on Spring Family Night Hikes, summer camp for kids, and a huge Harvest Fair in October that seems to bring the entire town to their grounds.

7. Easton Town Pool. Opening this week, this town pool is the best spot on a hot summer's day with little kids. The pool is more like a small pond with filtered water, a sandy beach, and lots of lifeguards on hand to help keep an eye on beginning swimmers. 

8. Maguire's Bar and Grill. Massachusetts' oldest independently owned and continuously operated restaurant and bar, I don't think Maguire's ever closes -- we've made the short drive during a snowstorm! Maguire's is a great place to stop for a juicy burger, blackened shrimp pasta (my favorite!), or one of their special seasonal offerings. My kids love the lively, informal atmosphere as much as I do.

9. Ames Free Library. Check out one of the town's many historic buildings, this one designed by the famous American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. A spacious children's room and pretty outdoor gardens make the Ames Free Library a great stop for books, movies, and video games.

10. The Marketplace at Simpson Spring. Take a field trip to the oldest independent bottling plant in the US and try some of their delicious old-fashioned soda flavors like Cream Soda and White Birch. The Saturday marketplace also brings together local farms and food producers, crafters, and other locals businesses into a bustling year-round indoor market. If you can catch a tour, do it---totally fascinating for both kids and grown ups.

Do you have other Easton gems you love? Feel free to share in the comments below! And if you want to pen a Local Gems guest post, contact Christine at editor@bostonmamas.com to check on availability.

Image credits: thumbnail via Maguire's; all images via linked websites or associated Facebook pages with the exception of Borderland State Park, via Wikipedia.

Ever since making my career leap 8 years ago, I've talked with many people who have felt a desire to leap but haven't been able to step off the ledge. I totally get it; many complicating factors get in the way of dreams. Subsequently, when I see a long-desired dream come to life, it pretty much makes my heart explode with happiness. Such is the case with my longtime friend (and Boston Mamas contributor), Paige, who just launched Tess & Ted.

Today I wanted to share about my experience with Paige's interior design services. Because her work has changed our lives. No joke.

To back up, I consider myself a person with a strong sense of style; getting dressed every day is easy and in general, I know what I like (and don't like) when I see it. However, when it comes to interiors, I become paralyzed; it just seems like a large, overwhelming process and in the past I’ve been afraid to make one-off choices without having a big picture plan (and I haven’t know where to start with the big picture plan!). Subsequently, I’ve always felt unsettled in my living spaces; everything has felt temporary and handed down and mismatched (though hey, we were super grateful for all those hand me downs during our grad student days), but I haven’t known how to start making changes. Jon and my styles also differ somewhat, and I’ve had no idea how to bridge those differences -- so, the topic of interiors has always stressed me out.

After the holidays, Jon and I started working with Paige. We decided that we were going to stay put in our home and wanted to finally make it feel like it was ours. During our consultation, Paige asked questions, listened intently, and returned with a series of inspiration boards (entryway, living room, dining room) that miraculously merged Jon and my styles, opened our eyes to different options, and just looked plain beautiful. She has since guided us through the process of transformation -- from bringing in contractors, to responding to my frantic “lifeline” shopping texts, to even picking up items on the fly when she thought they might work for us (with an option to say no of course).

I’m not overstating things when I say that Paige has changed our lives. With every step of our interior transformation -- from larger changes like paint and built-ins to smaller changes like lamps -- I’ve realized how incredibly important it is to make your home yours...to create a space where you feel comfort and joy and permanence. Every time I walk down the stairs and take in our new space, I smile. I have racked up a ton more smiles in the last 6 months!

We're still a work in progress -- we've been chipping away at our redesign both to keep an eye on budget and also since it just takes us a while to get around to things what with everything else in life. I'll be shooting photos of the house more formally once it's all done, but I wanted to share a sneak peek of 4 fantastic changes. Let's just say that we started with plain white walls, neutral textiles, and a shocking collection of mismatched wood furniture.

1. LIVING ROOM. We love our gray herringbone couch but used to have a clunky dark leather ottoman + boring solid tan rug. Everything just felt so flat. Now our living area feels light and fluid yet cozy thanks to sheepskin pillows, a shag rug, and the open slats on this round ottoman.

2. ENTRYWAY. This area is still a work in progress (custom cushions are on on their way!), but one of the major transformations is our entryway. It's a large space (we have an open concept first floor) but we could never find a way to situate the space so that it actually got used. Now we have a built in L-shaped window seat that has created a fabulous new sitting area, including a cozy reading corner.

3. DINING ROOM. We were initially unsure of the dramatic contrast wall + coral lamps but of course it looks totally awesome.

4. DINING ROOM. Our dining room used to be really, really sad with a hand me down butcher block table covered with scribbles + horrendously ugly chairs I bought on sale from a department store during grad school. I love entertaining and I always felt embarrassed hosting people in this setting. Now it is a joy to entertain, thanks to a lovely oval dining table, white Eames-style chairs (including viking fur on a couple of them...awesome), and these gorgeous chairs I DIY'd after Paige found the original pair on Craigslist for $40.

I really can't say enough good things about Paige -- both as a person and a professional. But if you want to read more about her gifts (she can even help you via Skype if you aren't in the Boston area), check out what some of her other clients have to say about her. If you fit any of these 7 descriptions, I highly recommend you drop her a line.

Image credits: Christine Koh

One of my favorite things about summer is when beets come in season. I know there are some beet haters out there, and if you are in that camp, try fresh local ones -- they are a completely different animal! Beets are in season June through September in Masschusetts, come in a variety of gorgeous colors, and also happen to be super good for you. This week's Eat Seasonal feature offers 8 ways to enjoy beets through the day:

1. Start your day with a nutrient-rich beet smoothie.

2. This yummy beet salad comes via my sister Sharon and it is simply delicious.

3. Want to amp up your protein? Try this roasted beet and lentil salad.

4. This chilled orange beet soup looks so refreshing. I love the addition of egg (very Korean!); and it’s also a great way to use your seasonal cucumbers!

5. I am totally making this beet, arugula, and goat cheese sandwich today. YUM.

6. And maybe I’ll have some beet chips alongside my beet, arugula, and goat cheese sandwich.

7. My mother totally gives me the hairy eyeball whenever I compost produce greens. Here’s a simple recipe for sauteed beet greens.

8. Time to break out the ice cream maker for this 5-ingredient beet sorbet.

Image credits: strawberries via FreeDigitalPhotos.net; all others via linked sites above

The little angel's betta fish, Simon, went down the toilet, where all streams go to the ocean, last week. I bought Simon on a whim as a surprise one day, because I had fond memories of my own betta fish in college and because I think every child needs a fish. My daughter hadn't even asked for one; it was just one of those impulse things I do as a mother because I can. When she came home from school that day, I showed her Simon, and I think I was more excited than she was, but she grew to love him and shed a tear when we made the decision that anyone who has fungus growing on his side and who has eaten part of his own tail is probably on the shady side of the tree now. RIP, Simon.

We made a trip to the pet store and came home with a new tank and a new betta fish, which the little angel named Serendipity without really knowing what that name meant. I promised to buy more distilled water so we could take better care of the tank, even though Simon did actually live for three years through his murk and that is pretty good for a betta fish. It's been a week and it's time to start switching out half the water like the man at the pet shop told us to do. The man who also looked at us with his jaw dropped when we admitted we never turned out the light on Simon's tank and said, "You know they don't have eyelids, right?" and made me feel as though we had strapped Simon to a chair and played The Cure and showed him non-stop video of the bombing of Hiroshima. So now we turn out the light for Serendipity at night. 

That fish is so spoiled.

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New on Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews -- Time, Inc.'s Big Book of When

Happy Monday everyone, I hope you had a great weekend! We had a lovely one, enjoying lots of time outside, a solstice gathering with friends, World Cup, Maleficent (which I thought was quite good!) barcalounger style (!), and an incredible business launch party for a dear friend (which I will share more about soon!). Now, on to Monday! enjoy this roundup of fun for the week!

June 23 - 26: Learn to take smart photos. (Natick)

June 24: Explore Boston’s islands on free ferry day. (Boston)

June 24 + 26: Josu Ortiz Trio. (Boston)

June 25: Tree huggers at the Esplanade Playspace. (Boston)

June 25: It’s time to play in the park. (Lincoln)

June 25: A historical tea time. (Hanover)

June 25: Green art and earth tales. (Concord)

June 25: A lantern walk and lantern making workshop. (Easton)

June 25: Learn about the birds and the bees. (Lincoln)

June 25: Explore fireflies. (Belmont)

June 26: Fruitlands centennial celebration. (Harvard)

June 27: Space storytime. (Cambridge)

June 27: Learn about Ramadan. (Boston)

June 27: Free Friday night fun featuring the Maynard Community Band. (Acton)

June 27: Free admission to Franklin Park Zoo. (Dorchester)

June 27: Free admission to Worcester Art Museum. (Worcester)

June 27: Free admission to The Sports Museum. (Boston)

June 27: Free admission to MIT Museum. (Cambridge)

June 27: Free admission to Cape Cod Maritime Museum. (Hyannis Port)

June 27: Free admission to Tanglewood. (Lenox)

June 27: Free admission to Mass MOCA. (North Adams)

Image credit: Children's Museum, Easton

Happy weekend everyone, I hope you're enjoying the spectacular weather! If you're looking for something fun to do, don't forget to check the weekend mega-roundup (35 ideas = awesome)! Meanwhile, if you have a little browsing down time, here are some fun reads/visuals that caught my eye this week via Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome. Enjoy, enjoy!

- Moms: don’t wear insecurity, put on that swimsuit.

- The key to lasting relationships.

- Why do mosquitoes bite some people more than others?

- Remember last week when I posted about Sir Mix-a-Lot? Here’s Baby Got Back via Brian Williams.

- One easy daily habit that makes life more awesome.

- A lesson not to fake your period. But be prepared. Ha!

- Why my kids’ looks shouldn’t matter.

- Man, I love this song right now. Mary J. Blige is a great addition.

- Why women don’t negotiate their job offers.

- Totally making this frozen coconut limeade this weekend.

Image credit: frozen coconut limeade via Pinterest

We recently bought these textured dip bowls (in aqua and orange) from West Elm and they have been a cheerful, inexpensive way to add color pop to our white dishes/gray table. One of my favorite ways to do meals is what we call the "nibble platter" approach -- lots of little odds and ends from the fridge that suddenly look special when served in cute bowls and on platters.

These bowls are perfect for nibble platters (see image below...with Vi's hand making a cameo), and they've also proven to be a good snack bowl size to encourage portion control (read: I have a potato chip problem). West Elm also offers this textured style as dinnerware bowls. TEMPTING.

Want more Friday Finds? Of course you do! Check out: Lands' End Trekkers, Misfit Shine, Smooth Move, Beyond Baby, Bella Sante HydraFacial, chair reupholstery tutorial, Mizuno Wave Prophecy, Jordana lip balm stains, La Fresh eco-wipes, ridiculously awesome pants, parachute cord crafts, Where Is The Cake?, and Travelpro luggage

Image credits: 1) West Elm; 2) Christine Koh

Happy Friday everyone -- are you ready to make some awesome weekend plans? I hope so, because I've got a mega-roundup for you today, including 35 events lovingly curated for your consideration! Also, as I mentioned earlier this week, strawberry festivals are here, so don't forget to check out these 8 easy strawberry recipes to make use of your local strawberry haul!

1. Dinosaur egg hunt with an awesome grand prize. (Acton)

2. Learn how to do the Indian folk dance Bhangra. (Acton)

3. Ben Rudnick show to benefit Cradles to Crayons. (Boston)

4. It’s world giraffe day! (Boston)

5. Critter day with therapy dogs. (Boston)

6. Celebrate Chinatown at the Main Street Festival. (Boston)

7. Live performance by The Friends of Broadway. (Boston)

8. Fun, jam packed skateboarding demo from one of Boston’s greatest. (Boston)

9. Scientists of the future show off their ingenuity at Eurekafest. (Boston)

10. It’s time to make music Boston. (Boston)

11. Spend your day celebrating the summer solstice at Fete de la Musique. (Boston)

12. Sunday games on the banks of the Charles. (Boston)

13. Verrill Farm strawberry festival, dessert contest and culinary yard sale. (Concord)

14. Music at the Manse summer concert. (Concord)

15. Connors Farm strawberry festival. (Danvers)

16. Watch the Sox on the big screen. (Dorchester)

17. Free admission to Fruitlands Museum to celebrate Centennial Saturday. (Harvard)

18. Summer solstice farm to dinner. (Harvard)

19. Open barnyard at Weir River Farm. (Hingham)

20. Swim, kayak, run or walk against the tide for breast cancer prevention. (Hopkinton)

21. Marini Farm strawberry festival. (Ipswich)

22. Russell Orchards strawberry festival. (Ipswich)

23. Summer solstice celebration on the longest day of the year. (Ipswich)

24. 18th annual Tufts Medical Center Cycle for Life. (Lincoln)

25. Visit the MAKEmobile traveling creative and tactile experience cart. (Lincoln)

26. Lanni Orchards strawberry festival. (Lunenburg)

27. Enjoy the traditional summer solstice bonfire. (Marshfield)

28. Discover beaver lodges and dams on this family beaver hike. (Princeton)

29. Field day gets extreme at Wachusett Mountain. (Princeton)

30. Find some treasures at The Vintage Bazaar. (Salisbury)

31. Real life Downton Abbey upstairs, downstairs tour. (Stockbridge)

32. A children’s garden adventure quest. (Stockbridge)

33. Support the Stone Zoo at this Wild Affair. (Stoneham)

34. Worcester Food Truck Festival at Elm Park. (Worcester)

35. MA Farmer’s Markets Strawberry Dessert Festival. (Various locations)

Image credit: Franklin Park Zoo

After I returned from the very amazing Mom 2.0 Summit last month, I was on a total emotional high. I attended the conference with both with my consultant and blogger hats on, and everything went so swimmingly for my client and it was amazing to reconnect with my blogging colleagues. Sometimes I still can't believe how much joy and energy and pure fun there is in my work. I work hard, yes, but it also feels like such a gift!

So it seemed like an embarrassment of riches to find out after the conference that I won a 4-door refrigerator from Whirlpool, one of the conference sponsors. I don't enter to win giveaways often, so I was truly shocked! Also, the timing was sort of crazy amazing because our fridge was limping along; the drawers were off the rails, a mysterious erratic leak was creating puddles on the floor, the water filter was broken, and so on. We needed to replace it but researching another fridge was, well, another thing to do. We just weren't getting around to it.

I wasn’t planning on blogging about the fridge; I actually was almost a little embarrassed about winning such a fancy prize and I didn't want to seem like I was showing off! But I have been shocked by how (cheerfully) obsessed people are with appliances. Online, people have asked me to share a video or photo tour. In person, friends have asked me about the fridge's features. When we've had guests over, people have been eager to peer into the fridge.

OK, OK, I HEAR YOU! And as a result, I decided to share a little fridge tour. There are lots of snappy features you can read about, but I'll give you the layperson's rundown. Here's what I love about the Whirlpool 4-door:

1. The main doors. Our old fridge had two side by side doors (freezer on the left, fridge on the right) and given the way our fridge is wedged into a nook in the kitchen, it made it very difficult (sometimes impossible) to get anything large into the fridge. Amazingly, the Whirlpool perfectly fit the dimensions of our weird nook, but the dual door layout changes everything. It's easy to get in and out of and I can make and refrigerate my sheet cakes again! YAY! No joke, I just baked one a couple of weekends ago and cried a little with happiness when I fit it into the fridge.

2. The drawer and shelf organization. There are more shelves and drawers than our old fridge, which has forced us (in a good way) to figure out a good organizational system for our food. However, I've found that the really big win has been that being more organized has led to us being way better about consuming our leftovers. Less food waste = good.

3. The refrigerator drawer. One of my very favorite parts of this fridge is the refrigerator drawer that sits under the main fridge cabin. Because our fridge sits in an aforementioned tight nook, we still need to be mindful not to bang the right door into the wall when we open it. We put the most frequently used, kid-friendly items (cheeses, meats, tortilla, fruit) in this drawer and not only is it easy access for us as we're making meals, but the kids can help themselves to snacks! WIN.

4. The freezer, part 1. Our former side-by-side freezer/fridge was horrible for organization; basically, it was a vortex. The large lower bin freezer we now have is great for organizing and I love that there are designated freezer pizza slots. Incidentally, this has led to us buying and consuming more freezer pizza.

5. The freezer, part 2. Immediately above the main freezer bin is a drawer that's handy for smaller items; we store our nuts (man, we have a lot of nuts...it's because of this easy and awesome homemade granola), chocolate (most often used for these killer brownies), and frozen bananas (almost always used for this banana coconut bread). Also, a mustache ice cube tray. Of course.

6. The freezer, part 3. I didn’t even realize there was another secret drawer above the nut/chocolate/banana/mustache ice cube tray drawer until Jon found it. It's perfect for frozen treats (hey, who put the stray banana in the wrong drawer?). This is Violet's favorite drawer. Of course.

7. The water/ice system. I haven't even explored all the electronic options on the water/ice dispenser but I've been happy with basic use and I love the in-door ice system. Inside the left door, the ice collects in a receptacle with it's own door and you can remove the ice bin, which is super handy when I'm loading up a pretty drink pitcher or want to dump all the ice in a cooler.

8. The beeping reminder. Finally, this might sound very minor, but one nice little feature on this fridge is that it beeps at you if the doors are left open too long. We used to accidentally not close our old fridge with some regularity; we'd joke that you needed major torque to close that thing. Anyway, on the occasion that we or the kids don't shut the fridge all the way, beep beep. So handy.

In a nutshell, we love the fridge! I highly recommend you check it out if you're in the market for a new one. Also, it turned out that Lowe's delivered our fridge and we arranged on the delivery call that they would remove and recyle our old fridge, which was just fantastic. However, if you want to earn a little money, check out Mass Save's refrigerator recycling program. I think this is awesome (and hey, I could have used the $50 for more freezer pizza and popsicles); I just didn't have the bandwidth to coordinate another thing given that we were having some other work done on our house when all of this was happening.

Let me know if you have questions about the fridge! And finally, thank you Whirlpool for being an incredibly generous sponsor of Mom 2.0 Summit, and thanks Mom 2.0 Summit for making crazy magic like this happen!

Image credits: Christine Koh