Shari, Author at Cool Mom Picks

Party on and on with this reusable birthday banner

Does anyone get as grumpy as I do about spending money on birthday party decorations that you use once before they become landfill? Well thanks to this new, affordable reusable banner from CMP favorite Butch and Harold, I’m feeling much happier....

Awesome street clothes. Sesame Street, to be exact.

by Shari | Kid Fashion

Seeing as my Christmas card this year was a photograph of me with an 8-foot Cookie Monster (yeah, my kids are in there, too, somewhere), I make no secret of my undying affection for the gang on the street called Sesame. So I’m loving an adorable T-shirt from...

See yourself in LEGO

by Shari | Toys + Playthings

Ah, LEGOs, you who are so much fun to play with and so painful to step on in bare feet, it appears that you have reinvented yourself again. You already teach math, you’re a cell phone, you appear in Escher art, you’re even a dreidel, and now you can...

Throw an awesome birthday party for kids without a lick of planning

by Shari | Party Ideas

I’m all about at-home birthday parties for kids. Which is not to say that they don’t stress me out, because they totally stress me out. But the idea is so appealing and old-fashioned, isn’t it? You know, if someone else would do all the planning and...

Fast Fruit for grownups on the GoGo. (Yes, squeeze packs for grownups!)

by Shari | Food + Recipes

I can’t be the only parent who’s swiped my kids’ squeezable fruit pouches. I love fruit so much, I could be a fruitarian with very little prompting. And now there’s a fruit pouch for us grown folks, with some decidedly grown-up...

Take on picky eaters this season with The Picky Palate cookbook

by Shari | Food + Recipes

I love cookbooks. I’ve never once turned out a dish that looks anything like sumptuous food photos, but a gal can dream, can’t she? Especially around the holidays–oh, to be that hostess.Since I despise ingredient lists longer than Homer’s...

Because retro rocks: vintage concert tees for hip kids

by Shari | Kid Fashion

Okay, I’ll admit it: I’m probably the least cool parent there is when it comes to music. I did have a brief David Bowie-loving phase, but other than that hip hiccup, my tastes tend more towards maudlin musical theater and 1970s story songs. Which is why I...

Alphabet awesome: cookie cutters as easy as A-B-C

by Shari | Kitchen + Dining

My son has been obsessed with the alphabet since he was two years old–so much so, that he was the alphabet for Halloween two years in a row (ask me how I pulled off those costumes). And his nickname? Letter Boy. I kid you not. So you can...

Etsy Gift Cards! Whoo! We’re officially thinking holidays now.

by Shari | Uncategorized

In Italian, “Etsi, finalmente!” translates rather perfectly into, “Oh, yes, finally!” Which was pretty much my exact sentiment upon hearing that the famously uber-cool online marketplace Etsy is now offering gift cards, just in time...

Celebrate International Day of the Girl with Cool (Girl) Picks

by Shari | Baby, Doing Good, Kid Fashion

October 11 is an exciting day at Cool Mom Picks, because what’s more amazing than girls? Initiated by the United Nations, today is the very first International Day of the Girl Child, a day highlighting the challenges and injustices that girls all over the globe...