I am tired of grabbing a quick, on-the-go "power" bar for my kids (and for me), only to find yet again that we're just eating a glorified candy bar. When I choose to put candy in my kids' lunch, I want it to be mindfully (yay! candy!), a…
On any given day, I might have to drop off a neighbor's kid at his piano teacher's house although he doesn't know her last name or the name of the street on which she lives, clip a finch's toenails, and negotiate with an international cr…
I'm not the Most Neurotic Mom in the World, but some days I feel I'd make it to First Runner Up, ready to step in, should she be unable to fulfill her duties. I work hard to give my children a healthy, positive, eco-friendly environment …
My go-to standard baby shower gift was, for a long time, either a baby bathtub, or infant footie sleepers. Useful, and admittedly a little uninspired. These days, I want to give something unusual, beautiful and creative: both moms and ba…
There is only one real rule this holiday season if you are bringing a hostess gift to a dinner party or a weekend get-away: the gift has to be something your harried hostess would actually enjoy. Okay, there is the secret second rule, wh…
I like to give crafted baby items made of fabric that are as soft and as safe as possible. And if they look fabulous? Even better. A brand new organic baby line is in town (virtually), and the fabrics are sophisticated enough for grown u…
We're now formally in the "handing-someone-a-bottle-of wine" season, and while most of us can simply stick a bow on it and pass it on, there are times when that bottle needs a little more oomph than a plain brown paper bag or a crinkled …
Angry winter weather is coming - yes, even on the left coast, where a cold, dry wind comes off the ocean and ages my skin (and forces me to eat leftover pumpkin pies for breakfast. A la mode). This winter, though, I am more prepared - I …
That growing anxiety I feel is because Thanksgiving is right around the corner, like a really long race I have to run and if I down, I'll never catch up again. Luckily, there are some food-tastic sites and bloggers who are a great help t…
I love the hustle of the holiday season: cooking, shopping and giving are three of my favorite things. What I really don't like is finding the right wrapping paper for my latest treasures - and it can get ugly when I have multiple smalle…
Whenever I go shopping for baby toys, I am dismayed at how many toy developers design their blocks in sherbet-y pastels even though babies prefer the colors high contrast and vivid for the first few months. (I am also wondering who decid…
I really enjoy cooking for my family. What I don't enjoy are the non-cooking parts of cooking - deciding what everyone is going to eat, and all that chopping, mincing prep work. Well we just found a really revolutionary service that take…
I have all sorts of tricks for when I worry too much, because I do worry -- too much and too often. Worrying happens to be a family trait. Unfortunately, that means I have a pint-sized worrier in my own house, and he can't self-medicate …
My kids are already super kind, generous little people, but that doesn't mean a little more conscious kindness isn't in order. That's where the folks at Boom Boom! come in. Their line of pay-it-forward cards (which we've already fallen i…
I am crazy about multitasking, and that includes at kid bedtime; when we read a book together, my child and I reconnect, plus I get to lie down, plus I get to work a little Mom Psychology 101. All that is made a little more golden when w…
Though I was long ago (like, on day one) over the nightly battle that was part of our bedtime routine, I never, ever tired of the snuggly part, where we wrapped up and read as much as possible before admitting it was time for lights out.…
Packing kid lunches is one of my least favorite things; rummaging for useable plastic food containers and matching them to lids that have migrated between several shelves (yes, plural. In my house, it's an Issue) is a misery. And I'm abo…
"Think big, shop small" is the call to action from a gorgeous site called Cosa Verde. have some of my favorite buzzwords from the get-go: Handmade goods , i ndependent artists , and sustainably made . It's like an aggregator of beautiful…
Remember when CafePress first launched? They offered what seemed to me like a whole lot of not much, onto which you could have imprinted your website logo or your dog's photo. Because you know, everyone needs a dog photo lucite key chain…
The mom and pop team behind Smiling Planet has a line of totally adorable melamine-free tableware for kids that we've already introduced you to, that are pretty, safe and eco-positive. And now from The Deane family comes something just a…
It was somewhere in my mid-twenties that I vowed to never again buy a cheesy reproduction; adults collected art, not dog-eared posters. Of course, it didn't occur to me that most work I would consider "art," would probably be far too dea…
We all know Alice in Wonderland is crazy hip right now, but let's be honest - not all Alicey-items are swoon-worthy. This one, however? Is. The collection of Alice in Wonderland themed tees at Pajama Squid come to you from Australia's He…
Are you stuck in a never-ending search for Valentine's Day cards that don't embarrass you to send to anyone over the age of five? Let's just say glossy, cheap, mass produced images of kittens tangled in yarn don't always convey the messa…
While you might manage your holiday-based communications via e-cards and virtual greetings, you probably, like me, have a secret print fetish. Thick, creamy paper stock, imprinted with subtle, artsy inks -- in a world of texting, a simpl…
