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Cool Mom Team

I'm In a Guatemalan State of Mind

LivingCool Mom Team

I'm In a Guatemalan State of Mind

I love local flea markets and craft fairs, provided the cool stuff outnumbers the lucite "keepsakes" and fell-off-a-truck tube socks by 3:1. Last year on a jaunt through the Ybor city market in Tampa the sigOth came across the wonderful …

New Parenting Is Fun! (Didn't You Know?)

LivingCool Mom Team

New Parenting Is Fun! (Didn't You Know?)

Now that we're on baby #3, my husband and I don't bat an eye at the 2 AM. wake-up calls, and spit up is funny, even when it hits the oriental rug. But we weren't always so laid back. The first few months with our oldest was the greatest …

I Like This Bookshelf, Sam-I-Am

LivingCool Mom Team

I Like This Bookshelf, Sam-I-Am

It isn't often that the kids and I both love a piece of furniture. To them, furniture isn't something to covet but something on which to climb, or at best, throw their stuff. So I knew I'd found something special when I spied the gravity…

Baby Shower Favors, Hold the Cliches

LivingCool Mom Team

Baby Shower Favors, Hold the Cliches

In theory, party favors are a wonderful idea. Sending your guests home with a lovely memento of a special occasion - who could object to such thoughtfulness? Problem is, most favors are destined for the dustbin. Have you ever received a …

These Toys Have Feelings

KidsCool Mom Team

These Toys Have Feelings

Q: When is having Mixed Emotions a Good Thing? A: When they are the super-cute kind that comes inside a Kimochi. What is a Kimochi you ask? Kimochis are soft, cuddly, stuffed toys that come in a variety of shapes, with a surprise inside-…

The Tutu That's Not Too-Too

KidsCool Mom Team

The Tutu That's Not Too-Too

I have resisted featuring tutus here for like a million years - or at least two - because frankly, 99.9% of them are too frilly, foofy, poofy and mega-princessy for even our little princesses. Rule of thumb: A tutu shouldn't look as if i…

Pop Fly: It's a Hit

Entertainment + MediaCool Mom Team

Pop Fly: It's a Hit

"HEY! Don't turn that down!", I snap at my husband who has interrupted my backup singing so he can figure out some complicated directions on our way to Boston. He looks at me, warily, from the corner of his eye. Shoot. I have been caught…

bObles: Furniture For Your Kids' Minds

Cool Mom Team

bObles: Furniture For Your Kids' Minds

One of the cooler finds of ours from the recent International Contemporary Furniture Fair were the very amazing bObles tumbling animals out Denmark. Of course! Because what is Denmark if not homebase for playful, modern design that I abs…

Baby Tees that Say Me Me MEEEEEEE

LivingCool Mom Team

Baby Tees that Say Me Me MEEEEEEE

It's been said that babies are all id. So why not develop onesies and shirts for babies called Me Tees that walk right into that fact? That's just what mom Melissa Stanchock of modern*me baby did and I can tell you, Freud would just be t…

DJ in Da Playhouse

KidsCool Mom Team

DJ in Da Playhouse

Generally speaking, I pry out the batteries from those loud plastic toys at first opportunity. But upon seeing the New School DJ Mixer at Ollie Bollen, the only thing I could think about digging out were my go-go boots; you know, if I co…

Connect the Dots

Random CoolnessCool Mom Team

Connect the Dots

While my four-year-old daughter can definitely write her name, she still has trouble nailing that tricky letter N. But now, thanks to her Little Stamp , she doesn't have to tell me that the N in her name is a super special fancy letter t…

Victorian Goth Hipster Baby Redux

BabyCool Mom Team

Victorian Goth Hipster Baby Redux

Oh Lou and Lee , where were you when my daughters were still young enough for your beautiful handmade onesies? I suppose I'll have to forgive LA designer Ann Dewitt, who's captured my heart with unusual details like vintage lace and trom…

Blocks To Knock Your Socks (Off)

LivingCool Mom Team

Blocks To Knock Your Socks (Off)

Oh Petit Flaneur , where have you been all my gift-giving life ? This brand new Toronto-based design shop is doing super fabulous things with a combo of natural or reclaimed materials from local sources and a sharp design sense. The hand…

Organic Fruit to Go With That Organic Cotton

Cool Mom Team

Organic Fruit to Go With That Organic Cotton

Not every pregnant woman spends her pregnancy scarfing down Twix Bars and chocolate chip pancakes. Or so I hear. (Ahem.) Some actually go all greenmarket for nine months, craving organic bell peppers, counting carbs and actually taking h…

Join the Circus Like You Wanted To

LivingCool Mom Team

Join the Circus Like You Wanted To

Graphic designer Jenn (just Jenn) does some pretty irreverent things with stationery at her shop Just Jenn Designs - I wouldn't necessarily get my kid a set of the punk-ass cursive cards , although I really do like them. Neither would sh…