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My grandmother made all of her grand daughters a Raggedy Ann. Each one had a little heart sewn on her chest that said “I love you” I love, love, love that doll and still have it. Some day I’ll pass it on to my grandchildren. There’s something about a handmade toy that is so special. I was inspired by  Susan Anderson,  author of Itty Bitty Toys , which shows you how to make adorable hand-knit toys for the kids in your life.

Susan is also the author of Itty-Bitty Hats and Itty-Bitty Nursery. Her knitting blog, susanbanderson.blogspot.com, gets more than 50,000 hits a month. Her series of 10 knitting tutorials, posted on You Tube, has been watched by more than 130,000 people in just the past 6 months. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and four children.

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Did you know that 4 million cats and dogs—about one every 8 seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year? Megan Blake is a pet expert, animal advocate and host of the PBS show Animal Attractions and she joined us on Amy’s Table today to talk about pet adoption from rescues and shelters.

Here’s why Megan says we  should adopt from an animal shelter instead of buying a pet from a store:

o You’ll get a healthy pet! Your new pet is more likely to be vaccinated, de-wormed, and spayed or neutered if obtained from a shelter rather than a pet store.
o You’ll save money! Fees from a shelter are usually much less than the purchase price of an animal from a pet store or breeder.
o You’ll find a better selection! Shelters have a great selection of adult animals, kittens, puppies and purebred animals available for adoption.
o You won’t be supporting puppy mills and pet stores. Did you know that purebreds account for about 25 to 30 percent of a shelter’s dog population?
o You’ll save a life!

Check our Megan’s new social network for pets, MeganHeartsPets

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The Amy’s Table Book Club book for February was The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister. I loved it. It’s a novel about life, love, and the magic of food and follows the lives of eight students who gather in Lillian’s Restaurant each week for cooking class. One by one they’re transformed and united by food.

Erica has always wanted to be a writer. She got her PhD from the University of Washington and, frustrated by the lack of women authors in the curriculum she co- authored “ 500 Great Books by Women” and “Let’s Hear It For the Girls” In the process of writing these books Erica read thousands of books, both good and bad, which is clearly a great education for an author. But Erica says having children probably had the biggest impact on how she writes. She has a second novel in the works, tentatively entitled Leap.

This month’s book club panel is Mychelle Armstrong , Tonya Kappes , Eisha Armstrong   and Amy Decker. They asked wonderful questions. Thanks ladies!

Susan Anderson is a wildly popular knitting blogger and author. She’ll be on Amy’s Table this weekend but you can see her today in Dayton. Here’s the info:

March 4th:

BOOKS & CO. (The original location)
11:00 AM
350 E. Stroop Road
Dayton, OH 45429

BOOKS & CO. (The new store)
7:00 PM
4453 Walnut Street
Dayton, OH 45440

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Looking for ways to be healthier without crash diets and unrealistic resolutions? Well-known nutritionist and author of the new book, The O2 Diet, Keri Glassman has easy and helpful tips on how to load up on foods with antioxidants that fortify your health and satisfy your hunger. Keri is a nutrition contributor to the CBS Early Show, an expert on WebMD, and writer for Women’s Health. To learn more about Keri, visit her site

Keri suggests these easy tips to add antioxidants to your diet every day:

· Spice up veggies with basil, oregano, garlic and mustard to add kick and health benefits

· Add lemon slices to water for added antioxidants

· Choose one new daily nutrition goal, such as swapping soda for water, or chips for nuts

·Top morning oatmeal with pistachios for more vitamin B-6

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Even when families aren’t feeling the pinch, saving money is a good idea. Deborah Way , Senior Editor of Disney FamilyFun joined me  to share her readers best tips and strategies for getting the most fun at the lowest cost:

·        See how it’s made: Take behind-the-scenes tours of local businesses. They are almost always free, and they’re educational (don’t tell the kids!) Possible businesses to tour: candy factory, working farm, grocery store, fire station, recycling plant.

·        Become park explorers: Explore public parks.  Each park will have a different mix of playground equipment to try out – discover parks you haven’t been to before in your town or city.

·        Take a frugal challenge: See what you can do with a set amount – “Let’s see what we can do with a ten-dollar bill.”  One good idea that comes under budget: visit a farm where you can feed the animals, enjoy snacks, and maybe even have change left over!

·        Make staying in special: Have a mock take-out dinner and movie night.  Preparing a fast-food type of dish at home keeps it healthier, and you can cut costs by buying DVDs rather than buying movie tickets for the whole family.

·        Track hidden treasure with geocachers: They use GPS devices to find hidden boxes containing logbooks and, occasionally, small treasures.  You’ll find places right near home you didn’t even know existed. For more information, click here [Read more →]

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You may know Annie Korzen as the actress who played Doris Klompus on Seinfeld or as John Turturro’s mother in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . But what you might not know is that she’s a lifelong frugalista with a passion for living large whiles spending little. In fact, Annie has managed to dress well, vacation in Italy, collect art, and eat out as often as possible without breaking the ban. She joined me today to share tips from her book BARGAIN JUNKIE: Living the Good Life on the Cheap.

For Annie’s tips and videos, visit her blog,  www.TheBargainJunkie.com

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Attorney, mediator and television personality Laurie Puhn regularly shares relationship insights and advice on dating, marriage, family and divorce issues, along with reports on the lastest relationship research. She’s also the author of the best-selling book “Instant Persuasion: How to Change Your Words to Change Your Life” and I found out about her through her article in Real Simple magazine. Here’s Laurie’s list of 10 go-to phrases to defuse potentially volatile conversations and help you get through the coming years — in harmony.

10 things to say to keep the peace:
1. “Thank you for your opinion. I’ll think about it.” When you receive unsolicited advice at a family gathering, such as Aunt Sylvia’s suggestion that you change your hairstyle, just smile and respond with this casual conversation terminator. Real Simple: Table manners refresher course. If you’re rudely asked a question like “Are you still single?” don’t reply with a lengthy excuse. Say, “Yes, and I’ll let you know if anything changes.” The goal is to be polite and end the conversation. There is no need to be defensive or rude.

2. “Is this a good time for you?” Whenever I want my husband’s full attention for a conversation and I don’t want to compete with [Read more →]

Tomorrow night I’m judging a professional cocktail event arranged by Pilar Zeglin, USBG Cincinnati/ Ohio Founder. The cocktails will include products from DeKuyper and Makers Mark. It’s a the Montgomery Inn Boathouse. I’ll make  sure to post pictures and recipes of the event. Cheers!

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Celebrity make up artist Candace Corey has worked for the top make up companies and her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, Oprah magazine, Beauty News and Brides Noir- all in the same month. She has created the faces on E! Entertainment Network and Access Hollywood. She’s a self taught makeup artist who says, “I never chose makeup artistry, makeup artistry chose me.”

Candace made over listeners Laura and Shelly and gave all of us the greatest tips. You can follow Candace on her blog and go behind the scenes with celebrities and get do-able make up tips. Click here for more information.