Conversation Starters

Stay up to date on what your friends and family are sure to be talking about.


Wednesday Trivia: Do You Live in a Locavore State?

A Vermont-based food advocacy group,  Strolling of the Heifers, compiled data on the number of farmer’s markets and CSAs in each of the 50 states plus Washington, D.C., then ranked them. Vermont (of course) came in first, with Maine and New Hampshire close behind. (Real Simple‘s home state—New York—came in at number 25). The states where you’re least likely to […]

Read More

Wednesday Trivia: The Benefits of Reading to Your Child

Child development experts have long known that children benefit from reading with their parents. But a new study published in Perspectives on Psychological Science has quantified that benefit. It turns out, reading to your little one can raise his or her IQ more than 6 points. But it’s not enough just to read the stories; researchers say you have have to read […]

Read More

Wednesday Trivia: Mother’s Day Gift Giving

Have you figured out what you’re going to give your mother on Sunday? If you’re looking for ideas, here’s a little market research to steer you in the right direction. According to a recent survey by coupon website Offers.com, 43 percent of moms would like to receive something homemade on Mother’s Day. Not up for a last-minute craft project? We […]

Read More

Wednesday Trivia: The Best Country to be a Mom

Mother’s Day is fast approaching…which got us wondering: Where do moms have it best?According to Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mothers Report, the United States is only the 25th best country in the world to be a mom. (That’s six spots better than it ranked last year. I’m a bit surprised. Are you?) Norway took the number one spot, […]

Read More

Wednesday Trivia: Managing Stress

According to the “Stress in America” report released by the American Psychological Association, one in four women say they are not doing enough to manage their stress. April is Stress Awareness Month, so here’s one thing you can do to diminish anxiety: Put away the newspaper. A recent study by researchers from the University of Montreal showed that reading negative stories […]

Read More

The Top 10 Questions on the Internet

You know the phrase, there are no stupid questions. I’m not sure I 100% agree—asking certain people certain questions can quickly deduct points from your hip/smart/savvy IQ. Yes, I found it endearing when my mom asked me, “What’s the Harlem Shake?” If a twenty-something coworker asked me that, I would think she has her head in the sand. But, lucky […]

Read More

Watch This Video: Dove Real Beauty Sketches

Have you seen this video that’s making it’s way around the Internet this week? I found it fascinating. Dove had a sketch artist create a portrait of a woman based on her description of herself and then a second portrait based on a stranger’s description of her. Then they compared the two sketches. What do you think they found? The […]

Read More

Do You Care How Your Food Gets From Farm to Plate?

There’s been a lot of chatter lately about laws being introduced or passed in various states that would make it illegal to videotape or take photos of the inner workings of factory farms. The New York Times wrote an editorial that nicely sums up how I feel: “The food that comes from factory farms is ultimately consumed by the public, […]

Read More

Wednesday Trivia: It’s Ellis Island Family History Day!

Bet you didn’t know this little known holiday existed. But if you have relatives who emigrated through Ellis Island (over 40 percent of the American population can trace its roots back to the landmark—including me), you may be interested to know this fun little fact. April 17 was selected for the honor because on this date in 1907, a staggering […]

Read More

How to Share the News With Your Kids

As the devastating story of the bombing at the Boston marathon unfolded, I turned on the TV news. Then I realized I have a 2-year-old. I wasn’t sure what kind of images to expect on the screen—something that could potentially scare or scar him, even at this early age. I wish Kid President had a nightly news broadcast. But until he […]

Read More