by Liz Gumbinner | Toys + Playthings
We have quite the growing collection of Funko Pop figurines, and last week at Toy Fair, there was one that actually made me tear up: A beautiful patina Stan Lee Funko Pop. Maybe because it feels less like a fun figurine and more like he’s being preserved forever...
by Liz Gumbinner | Kid Style, Entertainment + Media
Last week I discovered this fantastic Into the Spiderverse t-shirt on Woot! by comic illustrator Adam Koford (A.K.A. ApeLad), I figured it would be blow up. But now that Into the Spiderverse won the 2019 Oscar for Best Animated Feature last night (and deservedly so!)...
by Liz Gumbinner | Entertainment + Media
Last night’s 2019’s Best Picture award at the Oscars went to Green Book, a film based (ever so loosely) on a real relationship between prominent Black jazz pianist and classically trained musician Dr. Don Shirley, and his hired driver, Frank “Tony...
by Liz Gumbinner | DIY, Toys + Playthings
One of the great new trends at Toy Fair 2019 this week was the explosion of really thoughtful, creative craft kits. As you all well know, we’re big fans of craft kits as gifts for kids, especially when craft kits enable kids to make their own gifts for friends...
by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids
Kids are smart. And observant. Even our littlest children know that right now, there’s a lot of talk about what it means to be American, who’s a “real” American, and what kinds of values America stand for. And it’s complicated, but that...
by Liz Gumbinner | Art + Decor, DIY
It’s that time a year that I start to get a little stir crazy at home and have this major urge to redecorate. The newest home decor trend that caught my eye: fabric walls instead of wallpaper. Okay, so it kind of hit the internets about six or seven years ago,...
by Liz Gumbinner | Entertainment + Media
Last week, I caught a press screening of the The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part with my kids and I have to admit, my expectations were…tempered. The genius of the first LEGO Movie (sorry for any spoilers but you know, 5 year statue of limitations and all) is that...
by Liz Gumbinner | Fashion
This past Christmas, I wanted a perfect cashmere scarf — long enough to wrap a couple of times, short enough that it doesn’t poke out the bottom of a knee-length coat. Soft enough that I can wear it indoors, tightly knit enough that I don’t end up...
by Liz Gumbinner | Books for Kids
Children’s books that deal with slavery and other dark aspects of America’s history often wrap stories up neatly, with messages of hope and freedom and and liberty and justice for all. But of course, that’s not the way things often go. And in Coretta...