As you all know, we love supporting a good cause! Giving back to others is important to us, which is why we have a great cause to share with you, just in time for the holidays.

Cause Layouts™, the first and only free Facebook layouts that provide charities with cause-based social media fundraising tools, is teaming up with national organizations and charities to make a difference this season. Recently, Cause Layouts announced a partnership with the Isaiah Alonso Foundation, a nonprofit working to help families battling childhood cancer. The two organizations joined together to generate viral awareness and raise funds for cancer awareness. As part of this, Cause Layouts designed five free unique layouts for Isaiah Alonso Foundation supporters’ Facebook profiles.

Starting now, Facebook users can download any one of the five Isaiah Alonso Foundation layouts from Cause Layouts’ newly launched website http://causelayouts.com. Each layout highlights one specific family’s journey with cancer. For each original download of a layout, Cause Layouts will donate $1 back to the Isaiah Alonso Foundation. If downloads reach 10,000 or more and they remain displayed on users’ Facebook profiles for a minimum of 30 days, Cause Layouts will increase its donation to $2 per download, equaling a minimum donation of $20,000.

To join in and show your support, download one of the Isaiah Alonso Foundation layouts at http://causelayouts.com/Home/IsaiahAlonso. To learn more visit http://isaiahalonsofoundation.org/ or http://www.causelayouts.com.

As the holiday season is upon us and the New Year is right around the corner, our team already has personal goals on the brain for 2012. New Year’s resolutions give us the opportunity to set goals to better ourselves and we love looking for ways to make positive changes in our lives.

As much as we love the holiday season, we have to admit, it can get a little stressful. In order to cope with the chaos this time of year, Dr. Andrew Weil, founder and director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, recently published an article for the Huffington Post outlining 10 lifestyle practices that can help people achieve and maintain happy lives. These 10 lifestyle changes are easy ways to keep us happy, all year round – what’s not to love? Check out a few of our favorites that topped the list:

• Exercise: Human bodies are designed for regular physical activity. The sedentary nature of much of modern life probably plays a significant role in the epidemic incidence of depression today. Many exercise forms – aerobic, yoga, weights, walking and more – have been shown to benefit mood.
• Laughter: Smiling and, especially, laughing, are potent mood boosters.
• Forgiveness: Forgiving is almost universally held by philosophers and saints to be a key to happiness – and modern research confirms that those who can quickly and easily forgive when appropriate, enjoy better emotional health.
• Fish Oil and Vitamin D: Adequate blood levels of these nutrients has been strongly tied to emotional health.

Would you make lifestyle changes to live a happier life? Weigh in below.

Tis the season… for travel! Whether we are traveling in between our East and West Coast offices, jet setting to take a vacation or flying to visit family for the holidays, our team is constantly on the go. Here are a few travel gadgets we can’t leave home without!

• iPad – The iPad gives you access to email, games, apps, Internet and movies. It’s perfect for travel to stay connected and entertained!

• The Nook – As the world’s best reading experience and tablet essential, the Nook is amazing and we can’t live without it!

• Canon Powershot D10 – You can’t travel without capturing the memories! This point-and-shoot camera snaps amazing shots and is waterproof! Love it.

• The Wireless Luggage Finder – This little gadget takes away the pain of looking for your bags when you get off the plane.  The tag transmitter attaches to the handle on your bag and when your luggage arrives in the carousel, your keychain remote will alert you by sending a series of beeps, vibrations and a flashing red light to let you know!

• iPhone – In general, we can’t live without it, but for travel it’s a MUST. The iPhone lets us listen to music, watch TV shows and movies, access email and check out our favorite blogs too! What’s not to love?

• Biosilk Hair Gloss –   We know this isn’t a gadget, but it’s just too good not to mention! Biosilk Hair Gloss is the ideal lightweight replenishing treatment to protect and maintain hair and skin in optimum condition. It’s a great product and ideal for travel!

What are your traveling essentials? Leave us a comment below.