Perhaps you've poked around our holiday gift guide this year and come across the category called Gifts Under $15 That Don't Seem Cheap at All . If so, you very likely spotted the gourmet lollipops. You know the ones. The ones that call t…
You talented artists, you! You made it so hard for us to choose among all the amazing entries to our Cool Mom Picks + Etsy color your own paper ornament design contest to support Housing Works, and we have, after much deliberation, final…
'Tis the season for lots of neighborhood parties and gatherings, and you know what that means--lots of hostess gifts . I have a closet dedicated to "cutesy gifts gone bad," like dozens of fancy soaps. (I'm a pump dispenser girl.) Persona…
If you're an artist, a wannabe artist, or even an artist-in-training, we sure hope you'll enter our Color Your Own paper holiday ornament design contest that we're putting on with the fine folks at Etsy . All it takes is your design for …
Do you ever fall in love with an picture on Etsy before you even know what the item is? Beautiful styling and luscious photo-editing once lured me to click on a $75 photograph of a bagel. That's right-- a picture of a bagel. This time, w…
Whenever I go shopping for baby toys, I am dismayed at how many toy developers design their blocks in sherbet-y pastels even though babies prefer the colors high contrast and vivid for the first few months. (I am also wondering who decid…
Remember when slogan t-shirts were all the rage? (Yes, I still have my "Frankie Say Relax! " shirt from college.) Well here's a new way for me to express myself through accessories, maybe even a little bit more cleverly than I could do o…
Just when I thought my daughter had sort of outgrown the wand phase, a few days ago I watched her snatch up a tulle covered one and attempt to pawn off a pointer to her younger friend. You can be the " teacher fairy " , she said. Not bad…
Oh Lordie do I wish I could be one of those moms who whips up their kid's Halloween costume every year. But no, I end up going to some Party store and buying an overpriced polyester get-up. Whether or not you can sew I think this adorabl…
I want to give a hand to WeeKnit on Etsy: they've brought together the coolest collection of finger puppets I've ever seen. Where else can you find a vampire, a mummy, Frankenstein, a pirate, and a ninja in one place? And would that not …
The list of things my 3-year-old daughter doesn't love is a lot shorter than the list of things she does. But if there's one thing she digs more than anything else right now, it's dolls. Specifically, dolls to whom she can assign the per…
Wall decals are an easy way of giving a room a whole new look. And coming from those of us who have pretty much seen all the decals out there, we can safely say that the wall decals at the brand new Etsy shop, LittleLion Studio are a cut…
There's really no right way to decorate a baby nursery, but a great tip I swear by is starting with a fabulous piece of art or set of prints as an inspiration --as opposed to something like crib bedding, which babies outgrow super fast. …
Everybody goes gaga for a squishy new baby. Not only do they look like Winston Churchill and smell like heaven, but you can dress them up the cutest little thumb-sized shoes without the scuffing and "Oops, we left it at the playground" i…
We all should know by now that birds are the new black. Or maybe the old black? It's hard to say. But I'd imagine that looking back on this decade, we'll equate bird motifs with the french poodles from the 50's and happy faces from the 7…
I definitely enjoy my one plus cup of coffee every morning, but with our new busy schedule, that usually means I'm enjoying it on the go, which means I have a perfectly good reason to purchase one of these simply fabulous ceramic travel …
Almost every day, we drive by a castle. No, really-- it's in a field near our house, and the moat is a swimming pool, and the iron fence is guarded by concrete dwarves painted in garish colors. I can't make stuff like that up. "Mommy, ca…
When I first saw pictures of the amazing, whimsical and unbelievably detailed fairy tale houses and furniture by Mike and Debbie Schramer I simply marveled. This brilliant husband and wife team use real flowers, branches, roots, and moss…
The piles of books and catalogs on our desks around here have gotten completely out of control, and with another official reader in our house, I only foresee more clutter in our future. So that's why I'm digging these desktop bookshelves…
My three kids, and even my 2-year-old, are super eager to help me in the kitchen. And surprise, they seem even more eager to consume what I've prepared when they've had a hand (or entire arm as it seems to go) in making it. Granted, they…
It seemed like yesterday that I was dying to put a hair clip in my oldest daughter's nearly bald little head. And now with her bangs all grown out and her hair all grown in, she really can't leave home without one, so I'm always on the l…
There's a lot of adorable children's furniture out there, but the big problem is the cost. At least for the stuff I tend to like, which is vibrant and modern and doesn't have the word Shaker anywhere near it. Then I discovered the afford…
With the temperature finally reaching holy mama, it's hot out there --and that's the technical term--I love looking at artwork that makes it somehow feel cooler inside. The popsicle print from LA's Mint Buttercup is giving me goosebumps,…
There's just no comparison to the feel of handmade ceramics, knowing that an artisan's hands shaped the clay and followed inspiration to decorate something just for you. Don't moms deserve little islands of peace and beauty in our hectic…