So y'all LOVED last month's mystery mom tote giveaway so I thought I'd repeat with another mysterious newsletter subscriber giveaway! I've filled another roomy Lands' End tote with a collection of cool unisex baby gifts. One lucky newsletter subscriber will win this delightful gift tote (estimated retail value = $200). To be eligible for the giveaway, all you need to do is subscribe below by Tuesday, November 11! Good luck!

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Note: the Boston Mamas newsletter drops 1-2 times per month and offers the best from this site (and elsewhere on the internet), as well as periodic exclusive goodies. Yay, for periodic exclusive goodies!

Though I love the convenience of online shopping, particularly around the holidays, I make an extra effort to shop local. And to that effect, how awesome is this? As part of Marriott Hotels' Travel Brilliantly campaign, American Express and Marriott have transformed Boston Marriott Long Wharf's Greatroom Lobby into a pop up store featuring 8 small local businesses. I’m thrilled to partner with American Express and Marriott today to share some of my favorite picks from these independent Boston vendors.

Note: The pop up shop is open now until Sunday, November 30 (Small Business Saturday is November 29!), from 10am - 8pm. And the Boston Marriott Long Wharf is perfectly positioned so you can browse the shop then enjoy some time on the Greenway, which is one of my favorite spots in the city these days! Now, here's who you can find at the pop up shop:

1. I simply love that Flock Boston is run by a mother-daughter pair! Offering a range of bohemian inspired clothing, accessories, and gifts, these lantern bracelets by Jenny Bird are so special. Made of gold-plated brass and resin stone (in a variety of colors), this bracelet makes a delicate statement on its own or would play well with your other arm candy.

2. Looking for your girlfriend’s next favorite gift? Gracie Finn offers an eclectic mix of gift items, such as books, paper goods, home items, and gifts for women and kids. I’m especially intrigued to know what’s inside their surprise balls; unwind the crepe paper to discover 12 little prizes inside!

3. If your aesthetic is modern and minimal, you'll love the offerings from Lekker Home. I love Lotta Jansdotter’s work, and I have my eye on this large serving bowl and set of smaller bowls. The patterns will cheer you out of your winter doldrums and are perfect for parents (read: unbreakable by little paws).

4. Lunarik Fashions specializes in bags and accessories handmade by local artists. They offer bags and accessories to suit a range of styles, but I’m especially drawn to the modern color blocking of this leather drawstring bag.

5. My go-to dressing prescription is to wear simple clothes and and amp up my outfits with interesting jewelry. Rebekah Brooks offers unique hand crafted items, many of a delicate or vintage persuasion. I found myself drawn to her animal motifs; specifically this snake ring (and especially so once I learned that two entwined snakes are a Victorian symbol of infinity and eternal love) and swallow necklace.

6. If you’ve struggled to find good man gifts, check out Sault New England. They offer fun, usable items (e.g., beer soap!) as well as pay it forward type gifts (e.g., notebooks whose proceeds benefit public school art programs). I love their sailormade bracelets, crafted in New England.

7. I’ve been on the hunt for a Boston map to incorporate into our gallery wall, and I think Ward Maps is the answer. They have a variety of affordable map and transit oriented gifts (e.g., coasters, mugs) and specialize in antique items, such as this antique map of Boston (1775) print. They also offer modern styled maps, if that's your preference.

8. Looking for modern and cheerful picks? Check out Xylem, which offers quirky gifts for home and the whole family. Xylem embraces geek chic, with items such as this pizza pi cutter, which I'm certain will cut pizza with mathematical precision thanks to its two wheels.

Amazing, right? Hop on down to the pop up shop and tell me what you find!

Image credits: All images via local businesses featured above.

Disclosure: This post reflects an editorial partnership with American Express and Marriott Hotels in support of the Shop Small® Pop Up initiative. Because, hey, YAY LOCAL SMALL BUSINESSES! All thoughts and opinions are -- of course -- my own.

Happy Monday everyone, can you believe we got SNOW yesterday? Between the snow and the need to recover from a very full day Saturday I totally hibernated all day yesterday! Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful Halloween and are ready to gear up for the first full week of November. If you're looking for something to do, check out this great roundup via the Weekly Blueprint:

November 3: Learn how to use constellations to tell time. (Boston)

November 3: Family game night! (Dorchester)

November 3 - 7: Instead of eating all the candy, trade it in. (Newton)

November 4: ASD-friendly afternoon at Discovery Museums. (Acton)

November 4: Celebrate family reading on a story walk. (Boston)

November 4: We’re off to see the Wizard. (Easton)

November 4: Baby on board parent or caregiver walk. (Framingham)

November 5: Learn how to prepare Thanksgiving on the farm. (Ipswich)

November 5: Enjoy a holiday sip and shop. (Charlestown)

November 5: Explore deCordova for FREE. (Lincoln)

November 5: Take a walk around Gore Estate. (Waltham)

November 5: UNBORED Games: serious fun for everyone. (Wellesley)

November 6 - 9: American Journeys: Migration puppet show. (Brookline)

November 6 - 9: Salem Lit Fest: bringing readers and writers together. (Salem)

November 7: FREE admission to Discovery Museums. (Acton)

November 7: Spend the afternoon with Nathaniel Hawthorne. (Boston)

November 7: Learn to relax by being silly. (Boston)

November 7: Sing and dance with JeffJam live. (Boston)

November 7: Check out some super exciting new books. (Cambridge)

November 7: Preview the Crane Estate art show. (Ipswich)

November 7 - 9: The Boston Christmas Festival is in town. (Boston)

November 7 - 9: The Boston International Kids Film Festival. (Boston)

November 7 - 9: A holiday bazaar of all things vintage. (Salisbury)

Image credit: The Vintage Bazaar

Happy weekend and happy November (also, congratulations on surviving Halloween)! We have an uncharacteristically packed weekend (including heading to see the Boston Ballet's Swan Lake...exciting!) so I wanted to share this week's Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome before the day runs away from me. Enjoy, and don't forget to enter to win my $50 Amazon gift certificate giveaway this weekend!

- Rest in peace, Mayor Menino.

- The Bruins bring Frozen to life.

- The race to nowhere in youth sports.

- Turn your princess obsessed toddler into a feminist in 8 easy steps.

- The cheapest generation.

- Holy crap, Danielle Ratcliffe!

- Design disasters make me laugh.

- Who has been helped the most via the Affordable Care Act.

- Honored to be featured on Media Shower, talking about the power of authenticity.

- 50 best culturally diverse children’s books.

- Notes from the losing team.

Image credit: crack pie via Pinterest

Whoo boy -- it's the last day of the month! I know that things like birthdays and inspiring work events make for great months, but October really and truly was a lovely one on all counts. Enjoy your Halloween festivities with your families today, and when you're ready to kick back some time over the weekend, enjoy some delightful backreading with this Best of October 2014 roundup.

Family Issues

• Lessons learned: getting over the homeschool stigma
• 5 tips that make saving for college not scary

Halloween

• 10 cute Halloween printables make it easy to create a festive home
• 10 clever Halloween costumes, no sewing required
• On the fly no sew M&M costume
  
• Dear Boston Mamas: how to handle the Halloween candy craze

Home

• How to create a gorgeous gallery wall
• Eat seasonal: 12 apple recipes
• Eat seasonal: 11 pear recipes
• Eat seasonal: 12 pumpkin recipes

Fashion

• Friday Find: New Balance zoo kicks are WILD
• 5 favorites from fashionABLE

Miscellaneous

• Hey Internet, Keep Being Awesome

Image credit: peanut butter cup blondie via Pinterest

Happy Friday and Happy Halloween everyone! I hope you and your kids enjoy the festivities today (and be sure to check out this post on how to handle the Halloween candy craze if things get out of hand!). Meanwhile, enjoy this roundup of 21 weekend events! And one last note, in honor of National Book Lovers Day tomorrow, I'm running a fun little contest on Instagram for a $50 Amazon gift card -- hop over to enter to win!

1. Halloween has one last hurrah. (Acton)

2. Magic show with Rupayan Neogy. (Acton)

3. Frank Zappa meets Pete Seeger! Billy Jonas CD release party. (Arlington)

4. Capitol Square’s Day of the Dead Festival. (Arlington)

5. Join in some artful scarecrow building. (Ashfield)

6. Waffles and wonderment fundraiser for Boston Marathon runners. (Beverly)

7. Happy birthday to Kambiri the gorilla. (Boston)

8. Spend the day watching classic cartoons. (Boston)

9. The Children’s Opera presents The Billy Goats Gruff. (Boston)

10. Infectious, engaging and interactive Tim of Tim and the Space Cadets. (Brookline)

11. The Hard Times of Woody Guthrie puppet show. (Brookline)

12. Create nature collages from all the park has to offer. (Chelsea)

13. Go letterboxing. (Framingham)

14. Learn how to create natural play spaces in small or large backyards. (Lincoln)

15. Wickedly funny day of post Halloween pumpkin disposal. (North Andover)

16. Finish the Fight against cancer 5K. (Somerville)

17. Celebrate Dia de Los Muertos at the chocolate factory. (Somerville)

18. Spend some time learning a historical craft. (Sturbridge)

19. Prepare and eat a meal as early New Englanders did. (Sturbridge)

20. Take a free tour of the ground-floor of the Gore mansion. (Waltham)

21. Ghost stories around the bonfire. (Westport)

Image credit: Smolak Farms

Pumpkins are everywhere right now (they're in season in Massachusetts September to November) and I'm super excited to share today's Eat Seasonal feature. Why? Because I have 5 pumpkins sitting on my steps, two of which are uncarved and will soon move from decor element to delicious food thanks to the inspiration in this feature. This 12-item roundup largely focuses on off the beaten path (so, no pumpkin pie!) -- enjoy!

Click on each link for the full recipe and more beautiful photos; these food bloggers are totally rad!

1. This chocolate chunk pumpkin bread is seriously delicious, whether or not you use canned or homemade puree.

2. Roasted pumpkin fries = brilliant.

3. This roast pumpkin with feta and honey would be an amazing first course.

4. I love that leaving the rind on for this spicy honey roasted pumpkin means one less step while adding beauty to dish.

5. Give your salads decidedly fall treatment with this pumpkin maple vinaigrette.

6. Warm up on a cold day with this pumpkin turkey chili.

7. Breathe new life into a classic with this pumpkin and kale lasagna.

8. Perfect one-dish comfort food can be found in this roast pumpkin, herb and walnut pasta bake.

9. This roasted pumpkin risotto is a little more involved (in my universe, a make-over-the-weekend meal) but looks worth the effort.

10. She had me at one pot creamy pumpkin pasta.

11. Make your butter more awesome by making it whipped cinnamon honey pumpkin butter.

12. A brilliant use for those pumpkin seeds: roasted pumpkin seed brittle.

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

Despite being a designer and a very visual person, hanging wall art has been a point of paralysis. My general assumptions of uniformity (e.g., frame type) and centered hanging have left me with walls that haven’t felt quite right. Over the last year while we’ve been redesigning our home, I’ve been studying and collecting nuggets of wisdom regarding gallery walls. I’m thrilled today to partner with Minted -- where I’ve recently procured some gorgeous art -- to share some tips and inspiration to cozy up your home via art.

To back up briefly, you may already know about Minted's beautiful holiday cards. Minted features the work of independent designers (I've been honored to have a few designs represented in their collection) and over the summer they rolled out their art marketplace. SO. BRILLIANT. The marketplace offers a wide range of styles (close to 1,800 pieces!) with a variety of frame options (hanging hardware pre-installed -- HOORAY!). Here are 8 tips for creating a beautiful gallery wall that will feel truly yours, including some of my favorite picks from Minted. 

1. Evaluate what you have (and what you don't). Walk around your home and collect favorite existing art, photos, and small wall hangings so you can map out a wall and identify what you need. If you have frames that are due for a fresh image, grab those too. I ended up having a lot of frames with photos that were ready to swap out; I ordered several pieces of Minted art unframed, which makes for very affordable procurement!

2. Anchor your wall. Use 2-4 pieces to anchor the center of your gallery. We have a vibrant Heather Pilchard landscape as one of our anchors. Something like this gorgeous Summering Forever piece by Emily Jeffords or Lindsay Megahed’s Summer Clouds (which I ordered for our reading nook) would make for gorgeous, vibrant anchors.

3. Vary frames. I used to think everything needed to be in a black matte frame. Not so! Mixing black and white frames creates a modern, minimal aesthetic. We're adding gold or natural frames in to a largely black and white mix to add warmth. To make for a more eclectic collection, include vintage or weathered frames.

4. Mix frame/art elements. Add visual interest by mixing paintings, photos, frame styles, and sizes. I love Minted's recommendation of contrasting within pieces; meaning, pair vintage frames with modern art or photography and modern frames for old oils or high art pieces. For example, pair this Hello Zebra! print with a distressed frame or Almond Milk with a natural French farmhouse frame.

5. Create harmony via color. One way to create harmony with a gallery wall (while still mixing elements) is via color. For our wall, I'm creating harmony with neutrals and then adding pops of color. I like the double impact of neutral and nature, such as through this Leaf print by Anna Yarm and Serene Forest by Hooray Creative. I ordered both of these pieces and they are so soothing!

6. Create a story. Be sure to include items that have meaning to you; for example, art collected on a vacation or favorite family photos. For personal photos Minted recommends including candid, non-staged photography for a more elevated look. I ordered this African drum print given that I wanted a musical element in our gallery and also as a nod to my trip to Ethiopia.

7. Don’t worry about exact linearity! Gallery walls can be a little intimidating if you’re trying to make everything matchy matchy and lined up perfectly. The good news? It will look more artful if it's not matchy matchy and lined up perfectly! You can plan it out easily in advance by using paper templates (and find plenty of inspiration for arrangement on Pinterest). Break up lines with 3D or nonlinear objects. Or incorporate round art such as R Studio's Surround Me, Paper Dahlia's Sunrise Sunset, or Kelly Ventura's Soma.

8. Avoid overwhelm by narrowing your search. As I mentioned, the Minted art collection is huge, with nearly 1,800 items. As you evaluate what you have (tip #1), narrow your search to balance out your collection. For example, we have a lot of landscape pieces and so I narrowed my search for abstract neutral pieces (such as The Rapids) to counterbalance. I’m also hoping that at some point Minted builds in the ability to search artists by state so I can support local designers!

So gorgeous right? I hope you have fun browsing the Minted collection and sprucing up your walls!

Image credits: Minted

Today’s Dear Boston Mamas query comes from reader Jenn:

"Christine, how did you handle Halloween with Laurel and Violet? Specifically, when did you allow them to start going door to door and how did you curb their candy intake? My husband thinks Halloween candy is the gateway to disaster and serious addictions to junk food/candy afterwards."

+ + + + +

Dear Jenn,

Thanks for writing in! My view on candy is like many things: in moderation and with some general guidelines it is totally fine. I think the real problem comes when you restrict completely. I've seen this happen with other families and also am speaking from personal experience...my parents were super restrictive with sweets and I became a lunatic driven to shoplifting Swedish fish. I truly wish the convenience store from which I procured my Swedish fish was still there so I could pay them back.

First, regarding age, babies obviously won't collect/eat candy. Laurel wasn't interested in going door to door until she was 3 but last Halloween Violet (at 2 years old) wanted to go out with her sister and it was more about the acquisition than anything else. In fact, last week we discovered her pumpkin bucket in the closet, still full of candy!

Now, here are my 8 tips for handling the Halloween candy craze. Both Laurel and Violet love sweet treats, but we have been able to establish a decent balance by keeping to the below guidelines.

1. Real food first. A good rule of thumb is that real food consumption – ideally including fruits and vegetables – must precede sugar. The whole, “everyone who eats a good dinner can have a treat afterwards” thing does work.

2. Teach moderation. Kids do naturally self-regulate, but as they get older (and their eyes get bigger than their stomach) you may need to remind them about moderation. We’ve always encouraged the girls to listen to their stomachs and in the face of something richer than usual, offer a reminder such as, "Is your tummy starting to hurt? Don't eat until you get sick." (If your kid had an experience in the past where they ate treats until they got a stomach ache, this is a good time to remind them of that feeling.) This approach has worked really well.

3. Set firm limits. Decide on a fixed limit for consumption. For example, allow 1-2 pieces of candy after a meal, no negotiations.

4. Be consistent. Whatever rule you set up in #3, BE CONSISTENT. This is the key to almost everything with parenting. The less consistent you are, the more your (clever) children will realize they can beg and whine until you cave in. Less begging and whining = good! BE CONSISTENT!

5. Limit the drama. Kids feed off our emotions. Like 100% restriction, the bigger a deal you make of it, the more they will want it. Just be matter of fact about your decisions and limit the drama.

6. Make teeth brushing contingent on eating candy. It’s amazing how the nuisance of teeth brushing (not at the typical teeth brushing times) will kill the desire for eating candy. But even if it doesn’t, it’s a good thing to follow candy consumption with teeth brushing.

7. Teach about consequences. If candy consumption really becomes a difficult issue, teach your kids about consequences. Give it away via a local buy back or donation to the troops. Trust me, they will remember next year.

8. Change the giving rules in your home. If you want to model less candy, try passing out Halloween candy alternatives. It will show them that there can be other ways to celebrate.

Do you have other effective ways to handle the Halloween candy crazy at home? Feel free to share in the comments below!

Image credit: candy corns via Pixabay.com