By Caroline Inge

Good Morning! As you may have heard on the news last week, the official Obama family portrait was unveiled on Friday. The shot was taken on September 1, 2009 by celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. I personally think it's a beautiful family portrait, and it got me thinking: do you have a favorite family portrait? Not everyone can have a family photo taken by Annie Leibovitz, but do you have one taken by a professional or do you prefer photos taken by friends or family in a celebratory moment? Is it a photograph or a painting? Is it a casual, spontaneous shot? Or is it posed and formal?

I was chatting with a friend about house work this week. She has just returned to work after maternity leave and her stepson just began the schoolyear. Keeping up her house while adjusting to this new schedule has her feeling pretty overwhelmed. Under the misconception that I am some great housekeeper -- I am most certainly not! -- she asked for some advice. Here are my tips for faking a clean house -- you just need 30 minutes to do it.

As you moms out there know, it's hard...almost impossible...to practice shopping self-control when expecting. Around every corner, there's a piece of art, a onesie, or other item that you must have. For our nursery, I did finally focus and find some ways to save without sacrificing style. Here's what I've learned:

Get crafty! It's not your momma's crafts store anymore! Find ways to create simple, unique details in the nursery with ribbon, original art, or paint (as I did here). I took the little guy's gorgeous monogram by Allison R. Banks Designs, had it blown up at Kinko's, traced it on the wall with transfer paper, and filled it in with acrylic paint.

Last weekend we threw my dad a party for his 63rd birthday. Nothing fancy just a cookout with friends and family. We served your typical BBQ fare, but one thing I hated was see how much we threw away. Paper plates, plastic cups, napkins, and utensils. Even though you could recycle the plastic, people just tossed it because it made for easy clean up. I've learned while it may be easy to change your habits, it is really difficult to change those of others.

I wish I had seen this complete picnic set from Branch Home earlier. This is a complete biodegradable party kit for 50 people (which means it will be enough for a big party or get you through the rest of the summer impromptu cookouts with ease. The kit contains: plates, bowls, and trays made from bagasse (a fiber from sugar cane), utensils made from potato starch, cups (see below), recycled-paper napkins, and a few compostable waste bags for easy cleanup. Everything in this set is biodegradable.

I've used these plates and utensil before and they are great and extremely durable. You can get the entire kit for about $50 -- so that is about a dollar a guest. Not only will you be thanked for hosting the party but you'll appear extra chic to have thought of Mama Earth too.

How much does a typical trip to the grocery store cost you?

Our friends at All You are challenging you to spend only $25 per family member per week (that's $100 a week for a family of 4) at the grocery. If you do this for a month you could win $1,000 grocery card and a year's supply of Knorr side dishes-- FREE. Love it!

To sign up and get the basic rules click here. The contest officially starts July 13, but sign up now to get a reminder email and start your money-saving strategies today.

Need some cost-saving shopping strategies or what to share your own? Check out their Grocery Challenge blog and leave a comment.

May the best coupon-clipper win!

(Image via Highlands Market Place)

A friend at work recently told me: "Your baby will have no opinion on the nursery...decorate the room and make it cozy for you." So what do I want? I want a soothing, calming colors that will calm me and baby down at 2 a.m. when he/she decides to wake the neighborhood. So, here's what I have in mind...

Ah, cool blue (and not just for boys!). This color makes me think beach, sand, pina coladas, relaxation. The mix of chocolate brown and touches of chartreuse make this room more fun and kid-friendly. And the hand-painted wall art could easily be reproduced...maybe using stencils or templates for the less crafty. (From Better Homes and Gardens) 

This is an ode to my mom...she loves the all-white room. And I can't blame her -- something about all white says serenity to me. With 2 shedding dogs at home, this look is not an option for our home, but may be for yours. And if the all-white is too white, try incorporating an little color with bedding or other details. (From Apartment Therapy)

Now that my halfway mark in pregnancy has come and gone, I'm really getting into decorating the nursery. First order of business: paint. We went with a neutral color for the walls...something that can grow with Peanut. But it needed a little something...wasn't quite sure what it was...and then I looked up! The ceiling, that's it! It's an old Southern tradition to paint porch ceilings blue to keep wasps away, and being a Southern girl, I thought it would be the perfect addition to the nursery (and Scott approved...he approves of anything blue). Here are some picture of other painted ceilings...maybe on will inspire you to paint  the "fifth wall."

 
(Southern Accents, Andreas von Einsiedel)

 
(by designer Anna Dorfman, makeover from decor8)

 
(from Apartment Therapy)

 
(by designer Nate Berkus, from hue: for the love of color)

Den leading into kitchen and bathroom.

My personal home ideas update: I'm about to move! I found an apartment. Salivated at the wavy glass windows. Marveled at the 15 foot ceilngs. Visualized all of my things in it. Composed a list of things to buy.  Reveled in the idea of living amongst my own mess, just my mess!  Had a moving date. Obtained the lease. Had a few questions about the lease. Contacted the landlord. Waited 1 weekend to hear back from future landlord. Called him. Stalked him. Did a drive by of the house. Still no answer. 

Small hallway leading into bedroom, which was big.

Finally find out that -- despite my lease questions, forget that I've looked at the apartment 3 times, he rented it to someone else over the weekend saying he didn't think I was serious. He offered to show me some others he had. I said I'd seen them and hated all of them. Conversation ended, and then I wailed to everyone at work about it. Everyone sympathized nicely (and patiently), espcially Abbi. My mom put me at the top of her Rosary, Novena, and special intervention prayer list, which is comforting and scary at the same time. 

Photo courtesy of about.com 

So now, it's back to Craigslist and hunting around neighborhoods at night looking for rent signs in an effort to not be homeless on June 1. I'm  positive it will all turn out, and I'll keep you posted with what I find. Fingers crossed there won't be any bed bugs.

Today started out like every other. I woke up early and took my mischievous 10-month-old Border Collie for a walk.

When I got work, I poured a cup of coffee and set to work attacking the pile of "office copy" magazines that were piled on my desk (and drooled a little over Ruthie Sommers' daughter's room in the October Domino!).

This afternoon, we all gathered to draw the winner of our Idea House Giveaway! These are just the postcard entries, which make up a small percentage of the 4.5 million total entries. If we could print all of the electronic entries, they would have filled the conference room from top to bottom!

Our edit team and marketing team collaborated on this project, and here are a couple of them overseeing the drawing (which involved a super-complicated algorithm, which -- thankfully -- we did not have to produce!).

Glasses of champagne lined up and waiting to toast the winner!

Our lips are sealed, of course, so be sure to check back in early November to find out who won!