I recently treated my kids to a scoop at the local gourmet ice cream shop and was shocked to find that to add a topping (i.e. four M-n-Ms) was about half the price of the ice cream itself. Holy moly. New recession tip: Staying in for ice…
I recently learned that one woman dies every minute from childbirth on this planet. One every minute. And that just about knocked me out of my seat. Because most of it is avoidable. There were all kinds of stats and figures and info abou…
I shrieked with joy last night when friend of CMP and Jimmies lead singer Ashley Albert turned us onto her new collaborative project with Phoebe Jonas, Survival of the Hippest . And by hippest we mean techiest, geekiest, and 2.0-iest, of…
A box of crayons and a coloring book are a staple toddler gift around these parts, but now with the sweet Crayon Rompers from The Baby Bunch, even their newborn siblings can get in on the budding artistry. This set of three bright, soft,…
Q: So its time to baby proof, and we need stair gates, a play yard, soft surfaces and all the rest - have you found any eco and/or attractive choices for this? - Alysia R Well, Alysia, we thought we'd turn this one over to friend of Cool…
Together in NYC this week, Kristen and I browsed a few boutiques and noticed that Frye Boots are making a crazy comeback. I still remember my first pair back in the early 80s, and how sad I was when I outgrew them. And could no longer we…
Okay, reclaimed wool bunny with your little fair aisle ears, you are super cute. You and your little frog friend, and that's all I have to say about that. I wish you weren't quite so expensive, but (sigh) I do understand that you're fair…
Team Cool Mom Picks spent last week walking around the huge ABC Kids trade show in Las Vegas, finding incredible new products to share with you - and realizing that yeah, we pretty much have been mispronouncing every juvenile products br…
I always thought that LEGOs were cute for making walls and towers, maybe the occasional weird angular horses or something. I honestly had no idea that now you could make, oh, say...the Guggenheim Museum . Right in time for the NY landmar…
It's starting to feel like contest judging week at Cool Mom Picks. Which is fantastic, considering how much we like giving things away to deserving people . But this time, we need your help. And you can win stuff too. One of our favorite…
A handful of readers have written to us asking for BPA-free food storage options, and I think it's so great that there's such heightened awareness of safety issues surrounding some plastics that manufacturers are responding. Case in poin…
While most toy companies start basic and work outward from there, I think it's really interesting that CMP fave (and pretty much every kids boutique's fave), Blabla Kids , has evolved from their quirky and sometimes irreverent line of fa…
I'm always on the lookout for goodie bag favors that aren't mini plastic Slinkies from the dollar store. And last week I discovered the adorable Crazyoleez crayons and I thought, now there's a winner. Two passionate moms essentially melt…
If you haven't noticed, it's become increasingly cool to be savvy about money these days. We love the iPhone apps that point out deals, the online swap sites, and even the shopping blogs that offer up discount codes as often as possible …
You know you're a mom when you go from being a bag whore to a bin whore. But considering how awesome bins are getting these days, like the new cotton canvas storage bins from JJ Cole, I suppose it's not a completely terrible transition. …
Potties aren't exactly the kind of item that gets me all excited, but I when I saw the new Bumbo Potty Seat at the recent ABC Kids trade show I actually did a double take, then backtracked to check it out. I loved our Bumbo baby seat whe…
It didn't take me too long to learn that younger kids are pretty much scared out of their wits by a lot of the costumes and decorations that are par for the course on Halloween. Forget bloody eyeballs or Scream masks -- even the giant in…
Mom's Night Out is an all too rare occasion. (Who's with us?) So Cool Mom Picks co-founders Liz Gumbinner and Kristen Chase are excited to be part of three good excuses to get out in NYC this week, when we perform along with a group of s…
I am always amazed by the number of online gaming pitches we get and then I realize -duh- I am totally addicted to online games, and have been ever since I was first introduced to Snood back in the day. Let's just say there is no better …
I am so excited about artist Rufus Butler Seder's third "scanimation" book, Waddle! . Um, I mean my kids are. If you're not familiar with these so cool they're almost magic books, they blend engaging rhyming prose about animals with grap…
I am a total Halloween loving dork, and if I had more hours in my day, I'd be That Mom who does the whole crazy haunted house thing, throws the awesome costume party, and gives out the best candy. I'd also be the mom who gets my you know…
I used to feel bad when my baby wasn't the only one sporting holiday themed clothing. But when your kid only has a week to wear it, it's really not the smartest budget choice anyway. So here's a way to stretch a buck -- grab something th…
The television show Mad Men isn't just influencing adult styles for Fall. We've seen some pretty awesome retro-inspired kid's clothes and shoes this back to school season, like the adorable Elliott shoes from See Kai Run . Even though th…
I am trying to find a gift for my one year old niece and I can't figure anything out. I don't want to do clothes and plastic toys. I'd like something commemorative - but what? -Grace If your niece's grandparents are like my kids' grandpa…
