National Wear Red Day — Wear Red Tomorrow!

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend the Red Dress Collection 2008 Fashion Show. The show is tomorrow and I can't freaking wait!

Red Dress Collection Fashion Show? That's right. As part of NY Fashion Week, The Heart Truth sponsors a big show where celebrities walk the runway in the latest and greatest red dresses. Why? To raise awareness for National Wear Red Day and remind women to take better care of their hearts.

Very few people seem to know it (I didn't), but heart disease is the number one health threat for American women. Yikes. So the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created The Heart Truth. It's a national awareness campaign designed to warn women about the seriousness of keeping their hearts healthy. You can learn all about it here.



So now you know. It's pink for breast cancer and red for heart health. And tomorrow, February 1st is National Wear Red Day. (Fitting don't you think — February and Valentine's Day and Red and Hearts and all that?) Want to get involved? Here are some ideas:

1. The easiest and best — wear red tomorrow! February 1st is National Wear Red Day!!

2. Take a photo of yourself wearing red and send it to the National Wear Red Day Flickr group.

3. Check out The Heart Truth delicious page for information about the campaign.

4. Are you a Facebook-er? Then you can show your support by joining the The Heart Truth Fan page.

I love wearing red. Red pants. Red sweaters. Red shoes. And love it even more if it's for a good cause. Now. Off to my closet to choose my red outfit for tomorrow. . .

Fight World Hunger

First, I checked my email and saw that smart Wendy had sent me a link to a cool site. Second, I got online and stopped in at sk*rt to check the latest, very cool headlines and saw the same link. It's a sign. Apparently I'm supposed to improve my vocabulary. Or fight world hunger.

Probably both.

Holiday Goings On on the Interwebs

So many things.

My sister Jordan had her baby.
Moses. Adorable. While you're waiting patiently for her to start blogging again, look up her fantastic 30 Gifts under $30 posts to give you some brilliant last minute ideas for Christmas.

Christmas Tour of Homes.
Just found this today! BooMama has organized an Internet Home Tour of Holiday Decorations. So fun to get a peek into people's homes. Go check it out. But please heed BooMama's advice and pace yourself. It's a lot of tinsel to take in.

Flood Relief in Washington State.
Daring Young Mom is helping with flood relief efforts in Washington. You can read her moving posts about the horrific damage and inspiring stories of service here, here and here. Want to help out a family in need this Christmas? Of course you do! She'll tell you how.

New York Area Gift Swap.
Organized by the wonderful Mommy Poppins. It's a great opportunity to clean out the kids' rooms of the toys they don't need any longer, make room for the new gifts and do something good for children less fortunate. Oh shoot! I missed it. It was yesterday. I. have. got. to. catch. up. on. my. email. You can still read about the great event here. For any of you traveling to New York this Christmas, also check out her NYC Holiday Guide.

One Laptop Per Child

[ I know. I know. It's supposed to be all Giveaways, all the time this week. But I can't resist sharing some good old regular blog posts along the way. ]

Have you heard of the One Laptop Per Child program? It's super cool. From the vision of MIT professor Nicolas Negroponte, these super-sturdy, real world, really simple laptops were designed and built especially for children in developing countries. Apparently they're created with an open-source non-desktop format and are supposed to be incredibly intuitive. If there is more than one of these laptops in the same area, they are automatically networked wirelessly. And they have a bunch of other cool features that I'm too non-techy to understand.

Anyway. The program is incredibly appealing and you can read all about the laptops here.

These laptops aren't really available for personal purchase. You can donate $200 to give one to a child in need, but from what I understand, you can't pick one up for your own child at a retail outlet. So, to help spread the word and get these laptops into the hands of children around the world, One Laptop Per Child implemented a Give One Get One promotion. Donate $399 ($200 is tax deductible) and you'll get a laptop into a child's hands in a developing nation, plus get a laptop for a child in your own life.

My brother Josh originally told Ben and me about these — we get most of our tech news from Josh — and we were very interested. We immediately made the decision to participate in the Give One Get One dealio. And then promptly forgot. And then remembered right at the last minute and placed our order. The promotion was supposed to end on November 26th, and we only remembered just in time to buy one.

But happily, they've extended the promotion until December 31st. So if this is something that appeals to you, it's not too late to get in on it. I'm hoping that by ordering this early, the laptop will be here for Christmas morning.

Giveaway: One Wish World Handmade Prize Package

Today's giveaway is pretty darn awesome. I know I've said that about giveaways before, but it's especially true today. First of all, the winner will receive seven (count them 7!) fabulous items. Second, the company sponsoring the Giveaway is truly working toward a better world. Enter your comment by tomorrow night (Tuesday) and you could win a collection of gorgeous, handmade items from One Wish World: A GRAPHIC TEE, A MAKE-UP BAG, AN APRON, A JOURNAL, EARRINGS, A FOLK ART PRINT, and A CHILD'S TEE. When I say awesome. I mean awesome.



Indulge me while I tell you about these amazing goods (read: while I gush).


1) First, you get a One Wish World Gathered Front Logo Tee.
A true girly girl tee, with gathered sleeves and front. 100% cotton, this tee is soft and comfy and in three colors goes with just about anything. Even better. Any time this t-shirt is purchased, One Wish World donates $10 to the Kwawatoto Orphanage in Africa. The tee retails for $28.


2) Next, check out these Form & Flow Earrings designed by A Work in Progress. These are gorgeous. A high quality Hill Tribe Silver Square sits sturdy while the nugget flows freely. The website describes them as "a metaphor for life; to be sturdy while free flowing creates strength". The earrings sell for $29.


3) Third, you get an Appliquéd Bird Make Up Bag made by Just Be.
Can't get enough bird everything! And check out the link to see the lovely fabric lining. So cute. 8” x 6”, zipper closure. Just right for holding all of life’s little necessities. Retail price: $18


4) Then, catch your breath when you check out this First Blush Apron by Blue Lily. Wash cold and hang dry. 100% cotton. 18" across the waist with a 60" grosgrain ribbon waistband. 25" long. What can I say? Too cute for words. There are additional color options on the website. The aprons sells for $35.


5) Fifth, you get a little something for the kiddies — a Pink Girls Appliquéd Logo Tee. In the most comfortable blend of cotton and spandex, each one has an appliqued flower with a stem of a different trim. As if that's not enough for you to love this tee, know that One Wish World gives $5 from every one of these t-shirts sold, to Reach the Children. Retail price: $22.


6) We're not through yet — you'll also get a Spring Quote Journal made by Marta Dansie.
I grabbed the description right from the website because it's excellent: These journals are individually handmade with patterned cardstock covers and unique silk ribbon binding. They are quite handy at 8.5" wide x 5.5" tall. Within them you'll find coordinating end papers and smooth white 28 lb. paper. Filled with 80 blank pages, each sheet has an inspirational quote neatly printed, leaving plenty of artistic space for your own original thoughts and sketches. For your niece in college or your own bedside table, you'll find yourself jotting your life down in detail. The journals sell for $18.


7) And finally, (and luckily, and happily), the winner will also receive a Mini Folk Art Print entitled Frida Kahlo by Ann Gardner.
I love this print! It is mini at 5" x 7" and comes printed on un-mounted, unstretched canvas. Perfect for a shelf accent or to add color to a little corner. The prints retail for $12 .

I know. I know. I'm gushing. But there's more. Whether you win this generous prize package or not, One Wish World would like to offer FREE SHIPPING to all Design Mom readers thru June 1st. When you place an order, just send them a quick email letting One Wish World know you saw their company featured on Design Mom, and they'll promptly refund your shipping. I say: spread the word about this giveaway and this great company. Everybody loves free shipping.

One other note, as you browse their site, you'll notice that several items are marked with the cherub symbol. This means that a part or all of the profits from the purchase of that product go to help a certain cause or charity. Why? Well, One Wish World says, "We hope to do good while sharing our gifts and talents. We believe strongly that helping others is good business. Hopefully you will feel good about doing business with a company as dedicated to helping others as we are." I'm impressed.

Thank you One Wish World!

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Random Giveaway Guidelines:
-You have until midnight PST on Tuesday, May 22nd to enter this giveaway.
-Just make a comment ON THIS POST to enter — any comment.
-Anonymous comments will be ignored/removed.
-One entry per person, please.
-The winner will be randomly picked and announced Wednesday morning.
-What are Random Giveaways? Read about them here.

AG Bell Walk — by Guest Mom Hailey Meyer Liechty

On Monday, when I read the post about Gabrielle's friend Laura and the Cystic Fibrosis Walk, I thought, "It sounds like a great weekend to get out and support something!! Because there is another walk happening this Saturday that's dear to my own heart.

It's called the AG Bell Walk, and it is all about childhood hearing loss. I love the tagline: Hear from the Start. Talk for a Lifetime. (Isn't that nice?) The event takes place all around the country. I lifted some text from the AG Bell Walk website because it was succient and I feel it is 100% important:

Hearing loss is the most common birth defect, yet most families are not familiar with it — or what the options for addressing it are. Yet, early diagnosis is critical so that children with hearing loss can benefit from advances in hearing technology and education. In fact, most children with hearing loss can learn to listen and talk nearly as well as their hearing peers.

On May 19, AG Bell chapters across the United States are hosting a Talk.Walk.Run., as well as a variety of other events, to raise awareness of the risks of childhood hearing loss and the options for addressing it, including spoken language. Join friends, family and colleagues and help give every baby with hearing loss a sound start in life.

It will be held in the following cities:
* Ann Arbor, Michigan
* Atlanta, Georgia
* Denver, Colorado
* Edmond, Oklahoma
* Indianapolis, Indiana
* Provo, Utah

My family will be participating and I am so happy to be involved.
_______________

Note from Design Mom:
Speaking of Walks, there are only a couple more days to get your support pledges to Laura for the Cystic Fibrosis Walk. I'm with Hailey: it's a great weekend to support a good cause!! And thank you to everyone who has donated so far.

Start Your Week off Right

It's Monday morning. If you're like me, a good Monday morning can determine the outlook of my whole week. If I start the day with a clean kitchen, if I am patient with my kids, and if I do something kind for someone else, I'm in good shape. Today's "something kind for someone else" is extra good because it involves one of my favorite families and a cause that's dear to their hearts. And I want to invite you to "do something kind" as well.

My friend Laura, blogger extraordinaire, participates each year in the Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis. Her son Conner (the lovely figure in the orange cap above) was born with Cystic Fibrosis, but because he only has a mild form, Laura feels especially responsible for supporting other families dealing with CF — many families experience Cystic Fibrosis in a major way and don't have the time or energy to do fundraising for research. There's an excellent post about why Laura Walks here.

Laura writes: "We are very fortunate that the type of CF that Connor has (based on the combination of the two mutations) will, in all likelihood, allow him to live a full and virtually symptom-free life. Connor is followed by a pulmonologist at Columbia four times a year and we do physical therapy on his chest everyday as preventative measures.

Since Connor's diagnosis we have learned more about this life-threatening disease (today, the median age of survival for a person with CF is just over 33 years). So, even though Connor's future will most likely be healthy and bright, there are many children whose lives depend on the research and drug development that is funded by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Because relatively few people in the United States have this disease, not as much attention or money is given to research and drug development."

The Walk is this Sunday, May 20th. Laura's goal is to raise $1500 by the end of this week. She's already 40% there but she needs more help! And I can't imagine a more helpful group of people than Design Mom Readers. Any amount you can donate is wonderful, but might I suggest $10? Not enough to break a budget, but it will add up fast for CF research. Go here to donate to Cystic Fibrosis Research by joining Laura's Walk Team.



Bonus: to thank you for your contribution, Laura had a great idea. Because she is a talented scrapbooker and stationery maker, (sometimes she shares her scrapbook layouts on her blog, see some of my favorites here, here, here and here,) she has designed and made a really yummy set of cards — the very ones pictured here. Anyone who donates to her CF team this year is automatically entered to win the cards! You can read more about the stationery drawing here.



Start your week out on the right note by getting involved in this very worthy cause. Thank you in advance for your thoughtful donations. $5. $10. $100. It all adds up. Remember, the Cystic Fibrosis Walk is this Sunday, May 20th, so you only have a few days to get your donation in!

Please visit the CFF site to learn more about CF.