Cake pop mania is going strong! Cute cake on a stick. Yes, please. Made popular by baking genius Bakerella , cake pops are now everywhere, from every food blog (I dare you to find one without a cake pop post) to Starbucks. When cake pops…
The standards for kids' birthday cakes have gone up a bit since I was little, when we just stopped by the Piggly Wiggly and had the teen behind the counter misspell my name between the lumpy sugar roses. Now we want them to be beautiful,…
I've been using the 3greenmoms LunchSkins eco-friendly sandwich bags ever since we featured them here awhile back, so how exciting to hear that they're launching a brand new line for Target. Hooray! Their new LunchSkins2 sets are availab…
Just in time for fashion week, one of our favorite local cupcake bakeries is getting all dolled up for the occasion from one of our favorite designers and we couldn't be more excited. Seems like pink cupcakes are the new black. New York'…
Ready for some Valentine's Day sweet talk? You can pack a festive Valentine's Day lunch that'll make kiddo swoon without even relying on those candy conversation hearts. That means you get to keep lunchtime fun and healthy while saving t…
I've always loved coffee, but it took becoming a mother to truly appreciate the wonder that is take-out coffee. Yes, the coffee is more expensive than if I made it myself, but my daily latte is an indulgence I allow myself for a few minu…
We are so excited to welcome Stacie of One Hungry Mama to the Cool Mom Picks team! We've admired her common sense, approachable, clever posts about food and cooking for ages now. This is the first of her weekly niblets of food-related co…
If you're anything like me, your diet consists of the meal you've made for yourself and then all the leftovers you nibble off your kids' plates while you clean up the dishes. So if your New Year's resolution is to eat healthier and be a …
We're continuing our series on help for the biggest New Year's Resolutions with one that we're seeing a lot of from our readers this year: Cutting back on the booze. Whether you're trimming the budget , slimming down, or maybe even poppi…
If you are not familiar with HoneyBells, you are not familiar with the sweetest, most delectable, lipsmackingly awesome nectar of the gods. Or as my kids call it, good orange juice. (Silly kids.) Each year, my dad has sent us a shipment …
I have a hardcore crush on Nutella. Although I must admit, I think their ads that tell you to serve it to your kid as a breakfast food are a little hard to swallow--like my kids need more help eating waffles ? Even so, the combo of choco…
As much as I like to tap into my inner Martha Stewart during the holiday season, this year there just isn't enough time to crochet snowflake ornaments, whip up petit fours wrapped in fondant, and glue-gun wreaths made of pinecones and mi…
Okay, so we sometimes make fun of mugs as gifts around here. But only because when most people think of mug gifts, they think of some awful " world's greatest____ " thing in comic sans that was nabbed off the bargain shelf at the last mi…
Baby's first anything can be difficult to shop for and baby's first Hanukkah doubly so. So if you are looking for something different and special for the little bundle I suggest you check out Judaica pioneer Emily Rosenfeld. I have perso…
My kids are grazers; they'd sooner eat a whole bunch of little things than one giant sandwich. Bento systems have always been a smart option for us, as you can imagine. Now there's a smart new one courtesy of Skip*Hop, the little mom-run…
This is the time of year I start keeping some gourmet goodies in the pantry for unexpected holiday guests, or impromptu cocktail parties that spring from Wii tournaments on snowy Sundays. And ooh, I have a new favorite. I discovered a sa…
I was so glad to learn last year from all of you that I'm not alone in my obsession with Biscoff cookies. You know, the ones you secretly hoard from the plane. So when I heard that they've now got a spread that's made from the cookies, h…
I'm back in town from a delicious jaunt to the Rogue Valley in southern Oregon, and I've got all the dirt on one of my favorite holiday gift companies, Harry & David . (You know, the pear people. With all the catalogs?) So here's my conf…
What do you get when you combine a kindhearted elephant, some hard-working mice, and the Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator of Click Clack Moo? A sweet little treat that's fun to eat... I mean, read . The Little Bitty Bakery by Leslie M…
Forget the plastic--we've found a shiny little metal school bus that's ready to rock the five food groups-- and keep them separated, too. The Din Din Smart Stainless Steel Bus Platter is non-toxic, lead-free, and it's heavy-duty, too; we…
I'm sure most kids would agree--wouldn't life be more fun if you were sitting on an elephant? I'll go with yes. That's why we're going ape for this adorable Children's Menagerie table and chair set from our friends at Paloma's Nest . The…
I started a new job right about the time my little guys went back to preschool. The rush to get everyone where they need to be has made our mornings a little, uh, more hectic than we're used to. And while I do manage to give the kids a g…
I love pancakes. They are soft, sweet, and super fun. Oh, and my kids love them too. So I love that Jim Belosic has captured pancake pride so beautifully with a new book, all about pancakes, that could turn you into the favorite parent o…
My Foodzie tasting box arrived this month, as always, but this one was mayyyybe the best one ever. Thanks in part to some of the best cookies I've ever devoured. Salted Rosemary Shortbread may not sound like three words that go together,…