More coolness from recent weeks…
Josephine: A children’s book as complex, vibrant, and endearing as Josephine Baker herself.
It's clear that Josephine Baker is one of those few celebrity icons who transcends generations. My parents loved her, I loved her, and now my girls love her thanks to the new book, Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker. And despite it being a book for kids,...
10 of the most awesome alphabet posters for nurseries of any style
It's no secret that we love alphabet posters around here, so we've rounded up some of our favorites from the past few years. Whether you like it when X stands for X-ray, X-wing, or Malcolm X, we've got an ABC poster you'll love. 1. The Cutest French Alphabet...
5 Tech Picks You May Have Missed
In case you missed them, here are 5 of our most popular Cool Mom Tech picks from this week. 1. Looks like you'll be able to cook dinner with your smartphone soon. 2. If you've got a Minecraft fan in your house, you need to see these! 3. Like we needed another reason...
Ever tried to resell something with a monogram? Well, now you can.
Growing up in the age of The Official Preppy Handbook, I coveted Izod shirts and monogrammed sweaters. While my mother agreed to the Izods, she argued that a monogrammed sweater was a waste, since we knew no one else with the initials JRW and couldn't hand it down. As...
Olive Box monthly subscription boxes: no olives, but still pretty cool.
Recently we featured 10 of our favorite subscription box gift boxes, and as the market gets increasingly saturated, we have to work harder at paring down the good ones for you. (Sorry, I don't think you need to pay $35 a month for $9 worth of face cream samples.) So...
I won’t grow up.
I'm a fan of typography for decorating the kids' rooms and nurseries. It's a nice way to change things up from all the cute animals and fairy tale characters that so many of us lean towards. So when I saw this gold-foil printed artwork from The Penny Paper Co, I was...
Star Wars alphabet and counting posters: Learn ABCs and 123s, you will.
We like learning with Star Wars, provided it's not while doing a handstand in the swamps of Dagobah. Luckily, these gorgeous Star Wars alphabet posters teach the ABCs and there's even a counting poster to teach numbers 1–10 without a single drop of Hutt sweat or sleen...
Black Wagon’s first ever toy sale starts now. As in right now. Don’t miss it!
Cool. Cheap. And your kids will like, oh, everything. Doesn't get better than that, right? Then check out this weekend's huge sale at Black Wagon starting today. It's one of our favorite go-to sites for apparel and toys for babies and kids. The toys are all 20% off,...
5 delicious ways to jazz up your morning oatmeal
Oatmeal is a favorite breakfast at my house, but after a while, plain cooked oats get boring — even when doused in maple syrup — and boring, to me, is never worth the cook time. These five new ways to prepare oatmeal are definitely worth the time it takes to make...
The new Yes to Carrots line is a delight for the fragrance-free fans among us
Anything overly fragranced gives me an insta-headache so I am committed to finding the best fragrance-free beauty products. The chemicals in synthetic fragrances are known to cause some nasty allergic reactions; I've even had to change seats on the train to get away...
Sole Hope: Throw a shoe party, save lives
There are a lot of things we can take for granted living in the US, like the fact that our children are probably not going to lose their limbs to bug bites. But now that I've found this incredible organization called Sole Hope that helps prevent that very thing in...
Trend alert: heart-shaped sunglasses and cat eye glasses straight from the ’80s.
As if the legwarmers, puffy sleeves, and the neon weren't indication enough, the 80s are back in full force -- as evident in the crop of campy heart-shaped sunglasses just in time for Valentine's Day. In fact, we're seeing tons of cat eye glasses all over the new...
The Crabtree book will make your kids laugh, make them think, possibly make them want to clean.
I don't know about you, but when I pick up a kids' book published by McSweeney's McMullens, and endorsed by the likes of Maira Kalman, Lemony Snicket, and Patton Oswald, it's a pretty good bet that I will need to bring it home immediately, hand it to my children, and...
A Valentine’s cupcake frosting recipe, hold the artificial colors
With a heightened awareness of kids' increasing sensitivity to artificial food colors, more parents are turning to natural alternatives for those Valentine's cupcakes and bake sale treats. And no, that doesn't mean you have to puree and strain down your own beets...
Powdered stuff? Bah. How to make perfect homemade hot chocolate from scratch in 5 minutes.
Homemade hot chocolate is not only better for you than those just-add-water packets, but it's also just as easy to make. Seriously. And it tastes way better, too. You're about to learn how to make luscious, homemade hot chocolate in 5 minutes, without a recipe. And...
Organic swaddle blankets from Aden + Anais join with the The Honest Co., and babies everywhere fall to sleep in style
We were wrapping our wee babes in Aden + Anais' soft muslin swaddle blankets long before today's babies were even a twinkle in their fathers' eyes. But, for today's lucky kids, Aden + Anais has partnered with another one of our favorites baby brands, The Honest...
WipesWraps: Something cute on the changing table besides your baby’s tush.
After the birth of my third baby, I was quickly jettisoned back into the world of nonstop diaper changes. For those of you still in that 12-a-day phase--or even if you just keep wipes in the car or the kitchen--the affordable, handmade WipesWraps by CleverRelish are...
Valentine’s Day cards and gifts for people who don’t take Valentine’s Day too seriously
As much as I love funny Christmas cards and sarcastic Mother's Day cards, I have to admit I have a thing for beautiful, artful Valentine's Day cards -- although yeah, I like funny Valentine's Day cards too. So much to my delight, I found an artist on Etsy who delivers...
A packable, portable mini kitchen play set for small spaces. Can you smell the Play-Doh burgers already?
If you're looking for the "to go" version of a kitchen play set or one to suit a smaller space, we think you'll love this adorable toy set that packs into itself for easy transport. Pull it out for all the pretend pancake flipping you can handle, then slide it right...
Bklyn Beauties Tumblr: an extraordinary perspective from a 15-year-old
This week, I met the most lovely young girl in my local coffee shop. Aminata is a first-generation American (her mother, her biggest fan, is from Sierra Leone) and she publishes the Bklyn Beauties tumblr, in which she simply documents the cool, interesting people she...
Massaging teethers for babies: Preferable to letting them chew on the cat’s tail.
My kids were mouthers. You know, the kind who learned to crawl, then proceeded to put every single thing into their mouths for the next, oh, three years. So I can pretty much guarantee that CMP fave, innobaby, would have had a place of honor in my great bag of...