More coolness from recent weeks…
The march of the marionettes
On a recent trip to Prague, I fell in love with the town's infamous toy shops. Somehow, I managed to squeeze into my bag a set of 6" marionettes for my kids, along with a small puppet theater. Who would know it would turn out to be the best-loved guilt gift I ever...
Hello, cute back to school clothes! (Also, Hello Kitty)
Every year, I promise my kids one special back to school outfit, and now that it's officially September (eek!) I guess it's that time again. Generally I'm a big believer in $8 jeans, but one splurge always seems reasonable, especially when they love it love it love...
Smart girl tee shirts – smart mama approved
This morning, my social media streams were in an uproar about a tee for tween girls that declared "I'm too pretty to do homework...so my brother has to do it for me." I can't begin to tell you the number of things wrong with that message; but then, you already know...
A new hipper-than-thou men’s shopping site from the folks at Gilt Groupe
The day my husband and I got engaged is the day he stopped clothes shopping for himself. Partly upon my request. It's now up to me to pick out everything from his sleeping t-shirts to his ties. Seeing as how I'm not a big fan of department store shopping for myself,...
A Zeal of Zebras for your kid’s zeal for animals
When I explained to my daughter that every group of animals has its own name, she was absolutely entranced. "You know, like a gaggle of geese. Or a flock of seagulls," said me, Mrs. Smartypants. Just before realizing that I couldn't name a third. D'oh. Just in time,...
GreenEats makes dinner eco-friendly
I'm not shy at all about my love for eco-friendly Green Toys, so it's probably no surprise that I squealed a little (okay, a lot) when I heard they were launching a line of tableware for kids. Not toy tableware--the stuff you can actually eat off of. And let me just...
Chantecaille makes skin happy
I have confessed before that I am an unapologetic makeup snob. My feeling has always been, you change your shoes, but you wear your face every day. That said, I'm willing to spend more money on great products, but only on the great ones. And not all of the pricy ones...
The Empire Strikes… a smart silhouette
I like Star Wars as much as the next mom. Okay, so maybe I like it a little more than the next mom, considering I can speak a little Huttese. I love that the Star Wars world is timeless, exciting, iconic, and fun, and I really love sharing it with my children. But I'm...
phil & ted’s, you’ve got some Verve!
It's got to be said: I've never been a big fan of the in-line stroller concept. I was always worried that the poor kid in the bottom kind of gets the shaft, staring at the back of a seat for the whole ride. Much to my surprise however, all it took was one look at the...
The Pioneer Woman, now on The Food Network
As a long time fan of blogger and cookbook author Ree Drummond (and a contributor to her homeschooling blog), I've had the date marked on my calendar to catch her new Food Network show, The Pioneer Woman. So this past Saturday, my kids and I clamored around the...
Happy Chaos – parenting words to live by.
As a child of the 80's, Soliel Moon Frye and I go way back. I have a glorious memory of dressing up as Punky Brewster for Halloween one year, which involved mainly pig tails and lots of bandanas. Her character was so bold and confident and I loved everything about...
Clothes that are easy to get baby in and out of–and now easy on the eyes, too.
I'm all about finding ways to make life easier, especially when there's a newborn at home. To that end, we raved about the clever designs fromMagnetic Me (formerly Magnificent Baby) when it first launched. The magnetic closure baby clothes make getting baby dressed a...
Subscribe to Cool Mom Picks, win a $500 Scandinavian Child prize pack.
It's just a few days until the beginning of September which means it's time for our next fab subscribers-only giveaway, and you'll definitely want to be part of it. Become a Cool Mom Picks subscriber before 9/1 and you'll have the chance to enter to win a fabulous...
Math is hard? No way.
No sooner did Team Umizoomi launch on Nick Jr. last year that my preschooler fell in love. Madly and deeply. Let's say she occasionally insists on being called Geo, her favorite color has gone from purple to blue, and best of all, she's excited about math. That's the...
These natural baby hair products are 90210 approved
It generally doesn't matter to me that a bunch of celebrities use a particular hair care product on their babies. But it did make me wonder what was so special about Jenerations Baby that Hollywood moms seem to be flocking to it. Jenerations Baby was founded by...
Maps with modern style
If you're yearning for a glance at a map today that doesn't feature that scary white swirl of doom indicated up and down the east coast, take a look at these fantastic cartographic posters spotted at Fab.com today. But hurry, because of course the sale ends tomorrow....
Dozens of ways to turn hurricane time into fun time with kids
If you're stuck in Irene's path this weekend, most of all, we hope you're safe! After that, here are a few of our favorite ways to spend your electricity-free time hunkered down in close quarters with the family. Got game? Apps and online games are no match in a storm...
Making breakfast a breeze
School mornings get chaotic. Kids are running around, remembering things that were supposed to be put in their backpacks the night before. Shoes are untied while sandwiches are turned crustless. I get anxious just thinking about it. Oh, yeah. And you need to send the...
A new website offering haute couture for the highchair set
As if I needed more cute kiddie clothes to covet, an uber-hot European shopping site for kids under 14 is launching stateside, with free shipping to boot. Hold on to your credit cards! Alex and Alexa is every fashionista-in-training's dream come true. With the latest...
Eco-friendly felt name tags – back-to-school awesomeness
I've been staring down the task of tagging a bunch of different items for my daughter's foray back to school. I don't know if it's because she's now a pre-K-er--a.k.a., one of the "big kids," (sniff)--or if that eau de Sharpie isn't my favorite scent in the world....
Exclusive: The Appaman Fall 2011 collection is here. Prepare to drool.
Every year right about now, I am so excited to whip out my fall wardrobe that I start wearing my new sweaters in hopes of forcing the weather to get cold. It's always too early, which results in an extra-sweaty couple of weeks. I would not put my kids through this...