Since having children, have you found it almost impossible to get to the gym? Are you noticing your waistline getting bigger and bigger and wondering why? We may be able to help you out. Some gyms around Boston will enable you to get your workout in while someone is looking after your child. These types of gyms are becoming more and more popular around the U.S. and Boston is jumping on the bandwagon.
 
Barre3 – There are already several Barre3 in the area, South End, Brookline and one coming to Somerville. Anyone under the age of 18 can hang out in the play lounge while you get your workout in.
 
Boston Sports Club – This gym allows you to leave your children from three months to 10-years old in their designated area. Members have the option of choosing a monthly babysitting membership or they can purchase a single-day pass. Depending on which Boston Athletic Club you visit, your kids may be able to take a dance class, cheerleading or swimming classes.
 
A Mom’s Village – This one may just be the ultimate for mom's who are serious about working out. It is a new health facility in the North Shore that caters to mothers. Parents have access to a state-of-the-art fitness center while their child is learning to play an instrument, and create art. The facility allows you to shower or nap before picking up your child.
 
BodyScapes Fitness – At this facility, you have to make a reservation for when you would like to drop your child off. They accept children ages six months to 12-years old into their playroom. The play area is bright and colorful, decorated with books and full of activity tables and toys. The playroom is free but only at select locations.
 
Btone Fitness – This is another great option for those busy adults in Boston that can't find time to work out because they don't have anywhere to take their children. There is a childcare service in every Btone location that accepts the South Boston location. The childcare service is offered during select hours and cost $5 per class. They supply children books and toys.
 
Boston Athletic Club – The gym has babysitting that is available in the morning and afternoon, Monday through Thursday. Hours are limited on the weekends. Expect to pay $8 per hour for members. Parents can buy pre-paid packages for $72 for 10 hours or $136 for 20 hours. The only downside to these packages is that they expire one year from the day that they are purchased. The good part of this is that it forces you to go to the gym or lose your money.
 
Equinox – There is a kids club at Equinox that offers crafts, encourages movement, and provides a storybook reading. Parents can go online to use the Equinox App to schedule when they will drop off their children. There are even some locations that offer pre-school and summer camps.

If you have looked at any home decorating books or magazines in the past decade, you may continue to notice that there is a style referred to as hygge that everyone seems to be talking about. Hygge is a Danish word. This word denotes a cozy, relaxing and welcoming environment. In many cases, ‘hygge’ is considered a lifestyle.
 
When you look at magazines and books that relate to interior design, you’ll find tons of pictures of cozy interiors. Who doesn’t enjoy a warm and inviting place to call home. Don’t worry, you can also create a hygge home without hiring an interior designer.
 
It is a look that should look effortless, casual and relaxing. Many of the things that you would use to create this space can be found in your nearest Target and Walmart. Yes! You read that right Target and Walmart. Think chunky blankets, wicker baskets, throw pillows, natural wood, and ornate home décor pieces. All of these things can be found at Target and Walmart or any other neighborhood store.
 
Hygge should evoke a feeling of warmth and comfort, whatever this means to you. Here is a template for creating what most would consider a ‘hygge’ interiors.
 
Declutter – Looking at clutter is not relaxing because you are always trying to figure out how to get rid of it. Simplify and start removing the items in your home that you don’t use and that don’t have a place for. Put only those things that you love around you.
 
Neutral Colors – It’s easy to create a serene and peaceful ambiance when there are neutral colors in your home. You can create layers of colors with the same colors just in different shades. Consider shades of beige, tan, white, pinks, greens, etc. These neutral colors should be on display in every part of the rooms that you spend the most time in. Limit the number of patterns that you use because this will make the space too busy.
 
Don’t Look for Perfect – Nothing in life is perfect and your home interiors don’t have to be either. You want a place that makes ‘you’ feel at home, a place that ‘you’ can call home. If this is a large, unshaped, chair or sofa, go for it! If this is a piece of furniture that is shabby but is cozy then why not include it in your hygge lifestyle. It may be the one thing that you look forward to lounging around on after a hard day's work. Don't look for perfection, look for comfort.
 
The hygge lifestyle is created by the perfect lighting, colors, and whatever else that you deem comfortable and cozy. It doesn’t have to fit into anyone else’s idea of what the hygge style is to them. Rather it is what it means to you. It is a space that feels right to you and that allows you to rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit.

Money Experience launched in early 2019 and since then has paired up with various organizations throughout Massachusetts to offer classes to people of all ages to help increase their understanding of finances.
 
Through their partnerships with Girls Inc.; YMCA of Greater Boston; Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston; South Shore Bank; Boston Children’s Hospital; State Street Corporation, and other companies, organizations, and school districts, they can reach a diverse audience throughout the state.
 
In a recent report about financial literacy, Massachusetts was among nine states that received a failing grade. This doesn’t come as a surprise to residents, as there are no financial literacy requirements, curriculum available for schools, and no associated budget.
 
There has been a really strong response from the community. Many of the schools, nonprofits, and financial institutions in the state recognize the need for this type of education. They no longer want to wait for legislation and are determined to do what they can to improve the state's rating. They began to think creatively about ways to offer financial literacy programs.
 
The Money Experience personal finance program is a simulator and courses that help teach a new generation about how their life choices can have a lasting effect on their finances and their quality of life. The curriculum is aimed at helping them to see a broader picture of the way critical decisions regarding finances are processed by the newest generation of adults by allowing the user to test causes and effects. It will allow them to see how the life choices they make will impact them both economically and overall. Money Experience is setting the way for the next generation of adults to be prepared with important information so that they can make educated decisions about their finances.
 
This summer, Money Experience worked with the YMCA of Greater Boston. They offered simulations at the Oak Square YMCA in Brighton and the Parkway Community YMCA in West Roxbury. The Greater Boston community benefits from these programs because they focus on youth development, social responsibility, and healthy living. This is how the Money Experience aligns with the nonprofit.
 
They also partnered with Canton Co-operative Bank to teach students of Canton High School how to be successful with money. The bank felt that this was a great opportunity for them to get involved in a community initiative that was in line with what they have been attempting to do for some time now.
 
An initiative with South Shore Bank is introducing the Money Experience to high school students across South Shore. Students will see how the decisions that they make today can impact their long-term financial health. The schools that are preparing to take part in this initiative are Braintree High School, East Bridgewater High School, Hingham High School, North Quincy High School, East Bridgewater High School, Hingham High School, Quincy High School, Weymouth High School, Stoughton High School, Norwell High School, and Pembroke High School.
 
A lot of organizations and schools will benefit from the Money Experience offered throughout Massachusetts.

Somerville’s Bow Market will be the new home to the South Shore’s bar pizza. There is a small window where you can order a North Shore roast beef sandwich or South Shore bar pizza. Hot Box is where it all started. The pizza has been arguably the best on the South Shore. Hot Box opened in 1918 and takes a different approach to the traditional South Shore pizza. The pizza started as a bar snack that would keep patrons drinking. However, over the years, pizza has become the main attraction. It is now on many of several restaurants in Somerville, Cambridge, Austin, TX, and Brooklyn, TX.
 
Many love how the cheese encases the crust and consider it to be a truly unique type of pizza. Bar pizza is served once a week at Puritan & Company in Cambridge. This is a one-of-a-kind type of pizza that can only be found in certain parts of the United States. We are fortunate to have the inventors of the pizza create it for all in the Massachusetts area to enjoy. It is not a new concept to the area, as it was created several decades ago.
 
Those on the South Shore may remember having this small, thin-crust pizza at Hoey’s Pizza, Poopsies, or Venus Café in Whitman. Just mention bar pizza and you’re sure to spark a debate over who makes the best bar pizza on the South Shore. Not only do people debate who makes the best bar pizza, but they also debate who the original inventor of the pizza is.
 
Most people would agree that the pizza was developed on the South Shore between the 1940s and 502 in small hole-in-the-wall restaurants. It measures about 10 inches wide, made in pans and placed into a deck oven in a small kitchen bar.
 
The bar pizza is different from other pizza's, such as those you'll find in Boston or New York because the dough is thinner on the bottom, cracker-thin; the cheese and other toppings extend to the ends of the pizza. It’s a small pizza packed with a ton of flavor, which is why it is such a treat.
 
In the beginning, the bar pizza recipes were handed to one bar to another throughout the South Shore. This is what helped it spread in its popularity. Some South Shore restaurants have been serving bar pizza since they were first created. There are generations of people who have been making this pizza on the South Shore, such as Campanella’s in Lynwood.
 
The recipe has pretty much remained the same, as the restaurants are likely trying to maintain the appeal for this small bar food. Some of the restaurants that serve it will say that it is the cheese that makes the pizza, while others would argue that the key is how the pans are seasoned. Whatever it is, the bar pizza is still just as popular today as it was decades ago.

Things are shaping up in the Cape Cod arts community, as The Arts Foundation of Cape Cod awarded Cape Cod artists and organizations $53,000 in grants for the year. They believe that the arts are not nice that they are necessary. 33 local artists and organizations in the Cape Cod area will benefit from the grant money, which would offer cultural opportunities for a variety of ages and capabilities.
 
This is the fourth year that the program has been able to increase the amount of funding that was funded and the number of projects that would soon benefit from the grants. There were more than 91 applications submitted seeking a total amount of $190,000 for funding. The officials who had to determine who would receive the grants said that the applications proved that the project could have a significant impact on the region and the economy.
 
They see requests for funding projects that will help use art as a way for healing and that can be used as inspiration for the next generation. The initiatives proposed are a reminder of the power that art can have on those in the community. Four of the grants, totaling $10,000 would go to projects that align with the goals of the AFCC Access Program. Their goal is to create opportunities for youths who are socio-economically disadvantaged and might otherwise face challenges benefiting from art programs.
 
In 2020, the funding would double the amount and double the number of participants from four years ago. In 2016 grants $25,000 went to 18 recipients. Over the past 30 years, the foundation has granted $1.6 million to the arts.
 
Here are this year's recipients:
 
Cape Cod Collaborative Arts Network – awarded $2,600 – this would be for an eight-week photography workshop for persons with developmental and physical challenges.
 
The Boys and Girls Club of Cape Code – awarded $2,500 – the fund's award to this organization would be used for before and after school art programs.
 
Fine Arts Work Center – awarded $2,000 – will provide free, creative and visual art workshops to Provincetown Public School students and seniors.
 
Cape Symphony and Conservatory - $1,500 – these funds would go toward Suzuki-method violin instructions for preschool children. Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra for a commissioned piece in celebration of the 400h anniversary of the history-changing Mayflower voyage that will be presented at a future concert.
 
Truro Center for the Arts at Castle Hill – awarded $1,250 – to be used for the 15th annual Provincetown Dance Festival
 
Sturgis Library in Barnstable – awarded $1,200 – these funds would support a six-week flash-fiction writing workshop for ages 16 and older.
 
TEDx Provincetown – awarded $1,000 – this would be for a third annual art vent for October; Harbor Stage Company for a summer series of readings; Nauset Regional Middle School for an Arts Day in participating schools; Provincetown Film Society for second annual Jamaica on Film Festival held in September; Provincetown Theater Foundation will use funds for off-season programming.