I have a weakness for beautiful desserts, and our Pinterest boards are full of recipes I can't wait to try. I'd love to serve a new cake at my holiday parties this year , but you know how brand new recipes and big events sometimes don't …
My vacation fund tends to get used for school tuition, so it looks like Italy, Sydney, or San Francisco will stay on my travel bucket list for a bit longer. In the meantime, I can dream about them while I make Christmas gifts, using thes…
Hot chocolate goes with all winter activities at my house, whether we're picking out a Christmas tree or going out to see the lights. Making homemade hot chocolate is so easy that I kind of feel guilty using the powered mix from the groc…
If you didn't get a chance to snag one of the aden + anais and (RED) swaddle blankets that support The Global Fund earlier this year, you're still in luck. You can treat a baby you love --while you help other babies--with this brand new …
I think I've found the perfect Christmas gift for my much cooler younger sister (shh, don't tell). While we have tons of ideas for fun and irreverent best friend gifts , I'm excited about the embroidery hoop art over at Merriweather Coun…
I never would have guessed that a ten-pound baby could bring so much joy--and so much back pain. I've recently been trying out the Orbit Baby car seat, and from my perspective it's a game changer. Plus a real back-saver that I'm thinking…
This year my husband and I loaded everyone up (even the grandparents) for a long weekend over fall break, and flew to Chicago, one of my very favorite cities, in search of some awesome kid-friendly activities. Our focus: checking out all…
There’s nothing quite like seeing your child pick up a book and read it to himself for the first time. And even though we've been known to tell our kids to putdownthatbookrightnow! when we're trying to get them out the door for school, w…
I'm all about the function and not the form when it comes to baby bibs, so I'm not usually one to freak out over a cute one. But then I saw the glitter baby bibs from Luna on the Moon , and everything changed. Okay, that may be a bit hyp…
This time last year, our kids were all about foxes , probably because The Song That Will Not Be Mentioned was playing on repeat in our homes. While woodland animals are still a favorite with my kids, I'm noticing one animal obsession ris…
I know, Halloween is barely over and here I am talking about Christmas. But before you know it we'll all be pinning cookie recipes and gift wrap ideas , so we might as well get ahead of the holiday craft game too. Washi tape crafts have …
I'm pretty sure I'm not the only mom who races to my kids' school party volunteer signups to be sure I can claim "plates and forks." Honestly, the holidays are busy enough without having to bake eight dozen cookies. (And bless you parent…
We've been longtime fans of aden + anais and all their lovely textiles for our babies, plus the modern nursery furniture and stroller designs from Stokke are some of our favorites. So when we heard the two of them were partnering to brin…
As a kid who saw creatures in my bedroom shadows at night, I always identified with the protagonist of Bedtime for Frances, who saw monsters in her bathrobe and had all kinds of other excuses for not going to bed. The new scary story for…
If you're having a big Halloween party this year, it's always so much fun, but it can be crazy trying to get all that appropriately fun, spooky food pulled together in time. So I'm happy to share some of my favorite semi-homemade Hallowe…
The kids in my life want to redecorate their rooms. A lot. Most notably, the teenaged niece who painted her walls purple, her ceiling lime green, and the trim in her room black--nice surprise for her parents! If you want to give your own…
Whenever I'm scrolling through Facebook updates, I can't help but stop and read photographer Brandon Stanton's Humans of New York photo feed. He has an incredible talent for capturing interesting portraits and poignant quotes about life …
We're big believers in the benefits of babywearing around here. And now that my husband and I are planning an adoption, I've been looking even more into the benefits of attachment to adopted kids through babywearing, and I'm convinced it…
I typically think of gingerbread houses as a Christmas tradition, but my family is usually so slammed with other activities then that we don't get around to it. So this year I'm thinking, why not build a candy house for the holiday that'…
One of the obvious—and awesome—perks of writing for Cool Mom Picks is that I get to scope out the newest, coolest products for moms. And sometimes, those products fall into the I-can-only-dream, outrageously chic, over-the-top gorgeous c…
I tend to think that making my kids' Halloween costumes is a great idea. I also tend to be wrong. Not only does it always take way much time than I have, but it can end up being every bit as expensive as buying something. My 9-year-old i…
Think laid-back, Southern California, bohemian chic and you've got Frankie & Sue 's new fall collection of dresses for girls. They're all about jewel tones, which I love for fall, and while there's a lot of mix-and-match patterns, they'r…
Halloween is coming soon, and it's time to plan our parties. First up: invitations. And not just any Halloween invitations, but seriously impressive, over-the-top, creative Halloween party invitations this year. If you're not up for the …
When I finally figured out how to get my babies in a good, tight swaddle, it changed my life. My night life, at least, because mama finally got to sleep. So I mean it when I say a good swaddling blanket makes all the difference in the wo…
