I always admire parents who aren't afraid to go a little dark with their nursery decor. And by dark I don't mean Gashlycrumb Tinies prints up on the wall, but something besides the pastel pinks and blues and yellows that the entire indus…
For the most part, I don't spontaneously exclaim awwwww and get all teary when I get a new baby toy for review, but that's totally what happened when I peeled open the sweet little canvas bag to reveal the plush baby doll from Bumblebird…
The artwork from San Francisco (by way of Brazil) artist Vera Costa of Sillydot is pretty much made for Nursery Decorating 101 - ten sets of three sweet, happy designs, each of which look great mixed, matched, or anything in between. The…
I've never equated cleaning my house with achieving zen, but while using Posies Cleaning Products , I can at least take some deep calming breaths while I mutter and scrub. Posies were created by self-proclaimed clean freak and lover of a…
Last year, I was instantly smitten with the bright, super cool graphic organic shirts from mom-owned Fierce Hugs , so when I found out they added a new line from Dutch artist Dagmar Meinders, I was willing to bet money on their awesomene…
Like tons of practical moms like me, my favorite gift to give or to get is a book. And if you want to get fancy about it, check out Bookworm Baskets , where the great book is just the beginning of a fantastic gift. It starts with a fabul…
We've certainly seen our fair share of personalized gifts here at Cool Mom Picks, but we've yet to run across a service such as the one offered by Sweetwater Street . Design savvy owner Lisa Burnett will transform one of her modern desig…
Personalized items make spectacular baby gifts because it shows you've gone an extra mile beyond the burp cloth sets, beyond the registry essentials. The one catch is, the gift can't be returned. The pressure is on! I can't imagine a sin…
I tend to spend so much time worrying about the gory details of my kids' parties that the birthday candles are the last thing that I think about. In fact, one year, I almost forgot them. Bad bad mommy. So, if you've got a kiddo with a bi…
I'm conspicuously absent from photos taken after the birth of each of my babies. I know a lot of you mamas knows what I'm talking about. But it wasn't even my complexion and weight that were making me camera-shy; it was my lady parts--my…
I'm not so inclined to follow the trends when it comes to clothing my son, unless that trend happens to be self-washing clothes that withstand blueberry stains. But if the trend is cute and practical, say cardigans for fall, then I'm all…
I have been on the hunt for the perfect children's jeans jacket ever since my baby outgrew the one handed down from her sister. And by outgrew I mean I continued to stuff her into it until it simply became cruel and unusual punishment. G…
CMP fave indie handbag designer Crystalyn Kae has taken the plunge into tweed and I'm not complaining a bit. The fabric formerly known as stuffy gets a fabulous makeover with Crystalyn's innovative shapes, judicious use of hardware, and …
If there's one essential in any maternity wardrobe, I'd have to go with a wrap dress . It's generally flattering to all body shapes, regardless of which direction your belly and butt tends to spread, although if not done well, it can def…
If you're having trouble keeping up with the Joneses then you'll want to snatch up a copy of White Trash Mom , a veritable guilt-free school mom's tome from authors Michelle Lamar and Molly Wendland . Don't let the title scare off you ur…
I haven't had a keychain since college, when we attached our keys to ID holders and waved them around at football games. Since I've (hopefully) evolved since then, I've decided to add a little personality and style to my keys. At least u…
The most thoughtful cards are ones you make yourself, I suppose, if you have any sort of artistic ability. If you want a card with a smudged scribble and some glitter on it, I could probably manage that. But when I want to send the very …
At a recent book festival in metro Atlanta, I had the pleasure of discovering Miss Rhonda's Readers , a local company that creates phonetically-correct books for little bookworms . What's interesting about them, other than the fact that …
The first day of kindergarten is tough enough, but imagine little Yoon's horror when a bunch of kids try to get her to stand in line with the boys because of her short hair. So starts the tale of Something for School , by Hyun Young Lee,…
I know there's not really a shortage of big bro/sis shirts or birthday number shirts out there, so it shouldn't be hard to track down at least one that I love. But alas, I'm picky. So when given the option of creating my very own thanks …
One of the best outcomes of the toy recalls of 07 is the transparency we're now finding from so many retailers--where and how their products are made, what they're made with, and how confident you can be when your 9 month spends the bett…
Sadly, shopping with my daughter is already filled with bargaining (if not actual bargains), and she isn't even a surly tween yet. So I've got Style for Grace to thank for a remarkably relaxed and enjoyable mother-daughter shopping exper…
Okay all you tri-state mamas, we're counting on you to come out to the fine borough of Brooklyn tomorrow, September 12, for a star-studded (well, in our own minds) book party for Sleep is for the Weak sponsored by the very good folks of …
Today is my birthday and it's a big one. 29. Yep. That's right. 29. Oh how I wish I had the guts to make use of one of the bad party buntings , aka "festoons of gloom" from UK shop Twisted Twee . The banners eschew some trite happy birth…
