Get your zen on...with The Zaftig Life

The banter about skinny jeans and body image issues isn't  likely to settled down anytime soon. But why waste time talking about  counterproductive stuff when you can enjoy who you are, eat well, and live life
to the fullest? That's part of the reasoning behind The Zaftig Life, a new Web  site, blog and brand-in-the-making that caters to women with real curves and real appetites.

Zaftig Life founder Nicci Morris, a career journalist, features editor and self-described "foodie," is all about balance and moderation, fitness  and fun, style and substance.

"I am a voice for every woman who has ever had a love-hate relationship with their genes, their jeans and ice cream, all at the same time," writes Nicci, who has turned her passion for cool food---think Chocolate-Banana-Hazelnut Bread or Pork Chops with White Wine and Caper Sauce---into a following that's
gaining momentum. Fast.

Tune into Nicci's recipes, her take on love/relationships and check out her highly hip style at www.thezaftiglife.com and thezaftiglife.wordpress.com.

It's all good. Really.

"When money is tight it is even more important to remember how many other things we can do to better our world other than just writing a donation check. We make choices in our day to day life that have a tremendous impact on the world around us."

—from Shoppin' With Lovin'

We came across this quote by way of Boom Boom! Cards, an intentional acts of random kindness kit that includes a deck of 26 cards and instructions for doing something nice for someone else. Like what? How about burning a CD or creating a playlist with inspirational music for someone who needs to hear it? Or thanking all of the school secretaries at your kids' school---when it isn't Administrative Assistants Day?

Basically, the deck is stacked so that you can't do anything but good. Each kit comes with an online code where you register your set of cards. As you cross do-good acts off your list---like asking someone who is alone at lunch to join or remembering to hold the door open for a stranger---you do two things. First, let the world know about it via your online Boom Boom! account where your card is 'played' and geographically tracked. And then, you take the Boom Boom! card you just used and leave it for someone else to find. If we all act right, the goodness goes on and on and on.

What's the point? The creators, who worked on the idea for a year before actually launching the cards in early '09 are talking 'bout a revolution. The good kind.

The Boom Boom! team is convinced that there is "a small but growing army of people who are sure that we can re-vision the world we know and create the world we want through simple actions that allow us to reach out and exercise the innate altruism that lives in all of us."

Sounds good to me. Check out their blog, complete with video uploads and discussions of the many, many easy ways we can all do good, and order a deck at the same time.

Revolutionary acts for everyday life: Boom Boom! Cards - $9.99

Doing more with less

From downsizing our supersized appetites for "stuff" to rethinking the many choices that tend to drain our wallets, 2009 has been the Year of Doing More With Less---less money, less time, less fanfare, etc.

But if anything, we've learned that scaling back the way we spend time and money hasn't been that bad afterall. For years I've owned a copy of Dining on a Dime, the how-to recipe treasure by frugalista Tawra Kellam, but only in the last 12 months has it been in such heavy rotation that I actually had to hound a friend to return it to me after I loaned it out.

Anyone looking to offer a meaningful gift while sticking to a tight budget will appreciate Tawra's book which is jam-packed with tips, techniques and innovative ideas on everything from creating homemade (classy, too) gifts for the teacher to how to stretch leftovers in new ways. Check out the book, which goes on sale ocassionally. The Dining on a Dime series is easily one of the best buys you'll ever make.