More coolness from recent weeks…
Get out the lipstick, mamas
My makeup lives permanently in my makeup bag, which seems to live permanently on my bathroom counter. Having a pretty bag for my lip gloss is important to me, since I'm looking at it all the time. So when I saw chic Aussie designer (and carbon neutral company!) Apple...
Baby’s first crayons
A box of crayons and a coloring book are a staple toddler gift around these parts, but now with the sweet Crayon Rompers from The Baby Bunch, even their newborn siblings can get in on the budding artistry.This set of three bright, soft, beefy onesies is neatly packed...
Pat the reclaimed wool bunny
Okay, reclaimed wool bunny with your little fair aisle ears, you are super cute. You and your little frog friend, and that's all I have to say about that. I wish you weren't quite so expensive, but (sigh) I do understand that you're fairly big and very soft and...
Eco-friendly baby proofing – Reader Q&A
Q: So its time to baby proof, and we need stair gates, a play yard, soft surfaces and all the rest - have you found any eco and/or attractive choices for this? - Alysia RWell, Alysia, we thought we'd turn this one over to friend of Cool Mom Picks and guru of all...
Frye gives sneakers the boot
Together in NYC this week, Kristen and I browsed a few boutiques and noticed that Frye Boots are making a crazy comeback. I still remember my first pair back in the early 80s, and how sad I was when I outgrew them. And could no longer wear them with prairie skirts and...
Peter Himmelman’s trampoline has room for many
It's not easy to get into the mind of a kid -- just watch me trying to pry "how was your day" from my eight-year-old---but LA singer-songwriter and father of four Peter Himmelman seems to have this knack on his new kids' music CD, My Trampoline. Whether he's singing...
Keeping her pants up while getting down
My daughter's going through a growth spurt, and any jeans without those little adjustable waist button-and-elastic dojobbies tend to sag to her rear's danger zone without an actual belt. I've spent the past several weeks plying her with all the pleather monstrosities...
The Official Much-Needed Children’s Brand Pronunciation Guide
Team Cool Mom Picks spent last week walking around the huge ABC Kids trade show in Las Vegas, finding incredible new products to share with you - and realizing that yeah, we pretty much have been mispronouncing every juvenile products brand name known to man. Since we...
The Britax Blink will keep strolling and strolling…
The first thing each of my kids were strapped into was a Britax car seat. I liked Britax's quality and reputation, and now that both kids have outgrown the seat, it still looks like new (except for a bit of cracker smudge on the straps). So it makes sense that the...
Noesis – Perfect for the know-it-alls of the world
When people ask for my two cents about something it's like catnip. I love giving my opinion on things. Well, whatever is considered a step above catnip, for opinion-givers like myself, Noesis is it. The business was started by mom of three Lynn Casey, and the idea is...
Artwork you’ll love inside and out
What happens when you cross an artist and a doctor? Radiology Art, it seems. Artist Satre Stuelke took his fascination with everyday objects, and his fascination with radiology, and created one of the most avant-garde, unique, and downright awesome collection of art...
LEGO moderne
I always thought that LEGOs were cute for making walls and towers, maybe the occasional weird angular horses or something. I honestly had no idea that now you could make, oh, say...the Guggenheim Museum. Right in time for the NY landmark's 50th anniversary. The...
Help us pick Minted’s next cool baby shower invitation. (Please! We really need the help!)
It's starting to feel like contest judging week at Cool Mom Picks. Which is fantastic, considering how much we like giving things away to deserving people. But this time, we need your help. And you can win stuff too.One of our favorite sponsors, Minted (and a card...
You say it’s your Birth Day
When I was pregnant for the first time, I developed an unhealthy affinity for those birth documentaries that had previously repelled me. Something about growing a baby myself made me want to click over and immerse myself in the gory details.A new book from...
Blabla launches baby dolls, and there’s nothing bla about them
While most toy companies start basic and work outward from there, I think it's really interesting that CMP fave (and pretty much every kids boutique's fave), Blabla Kids, has evolved from their quirky and sometimes irreverent line of fair trade hand-knit dolls to...
Season of the rabbit
There are some mass produced stuffed animals, like Ugly Dolls, that I really love, but there is something extra special about buying a handmade toy, like Oliver Rabbit from Rachelod on Esty. Rachel O'Donnell designed these soft, cotton stuffed rabbits to have loads of...
Classic food storage containers, hold the classic BPA
A handful of readers have written to us asking for BPA-free food storage options, and I think it's so great that there's such heightened awareness of safety issues surrounding some plastics that manufacturers are responding. Case in point: The new BPA-free food...
Not all toy storage is created equal
You know you're a mom when you go from being a bag whore to a bin whore. But considering how awesome bins are getting these days, like the new cotton canvas storage bins from JJ Cole, I suppose it's not a completely terrible transition.These storage bins are a little...
Attention Frugalistas – we may have $1000 with your name on it.
If you haven't noticed, it's become increasingly cool to be savvy about money these days. We love the iPhone apps that point out deals, the online swap sites, and even the shopping blogs that offer up discount codes as often as possible (ahem). So we're really honored...
Not quite Crayolas, they’re Crazyoleez
I'm always on the lookout for goodie bag favors that aren't mini plastic Slinkies from the dollar store. And last week I discovered the adorable Crazyoleez crayons and I thought, now there's a winner.Two passionate moms essentially melt all sorts of crayon colors into...
Expressing Motherhood – The good, the bad, and the OMG I can’t believe she just said that.
Mom's Night Out is an all too rare occasion. (Who's with us?) So Cool Mom Picks co-founders Liz Gumbinner and Kristen Chase are excited to be part of three good excuses to get out in NYC this week, when we perform along with a group of super talented writers as part...