My kids believe they are the World's Greatest Fans of Dylan's Candy Bar. Which is hilarious, considering that every single one of the zillions of kids who visit their shops each year also believe that they are the World's Greatest Fans o…
We love pencil cases! They're where we put all our pencils! And pens, and earbuds, and erasers, and... pretty much anything that'll fit. As our kids head back to school , we're getting serious about corralling clutter, and if we can do i…
If you've done any back-to-school shopping lately, you may have noticed, like we have, that llamas are taking over the world. Quietly. And with deceptive cuteness because let me tell you, llamas mean business. The takeover may be inevita…
With four kids who can ride their bikes to school on pavement and sidewalks, but also love to do a little off-roading as well, it's been a little challenging trying to figure out what kind of bike to get them. Until I discovered Cleary B…
So once you've gotten the hand sanitizer, the tissue boxes, and everything else on that classroom shopping list , it's time to have a little fun with some colorful school supplies! We always recommend getting a little goodie or two for t…
I'm like a lot of parents, in that I know my kids should be wearing sun protection for their eyes, but I'm not inclined to drop a lot on kids' sunglasses. Then I started thinking, if I'm spending $15–20 on safe kids' sunscreen that gives…
When it comes to tween and teen skin, and figuring out the skincare routine that will work best for them, I like to take the less is more approach -- at least until action is really needed. When I was younger, I had great skin until I st…
Our friend Marisa Cummings, the accomplished illustrator and force behind Creative Thursday , has launched an adorable box of happiness and inspiration, as she calls it. Or, more succinctly, a Box of Joy . They've been so popular that th…
After following the awful account of indie artist Tuesday Bassen and her legal struggles with Zara , which we shared a couple weeks back, we reaffirm our ongoing, ten-year commitment to supporting small makers and original artists -- esp…
We all know that there are some pretty amazing possibilities when it comes to LEGOs, from the skills they develop to the fantastical forms they can take. But the new LEGO Disney Castle is honestly pretty jaw-dropping. Disney fans, this i…
When I was a kid, one of the most exciting things about going back to school was getting to pick out a new Lisa Frank notebook. What would it be this year? A unicorn with wings and a flowing, rainbow mane? A dolphin family swimming in an…
Now that my kids are old enough to play "real" games -- you know, the ones where I don't have to let them win -- I love finding new clever and fun options for when we all gather around the table to play. So I was really excited to learn …
Though I've heard a lot of people joke that they'll be shipping themselves over the Canadian border if this year's presidential election doesn't go the way they hope, I know that for the vast majority of us, there's no place like home. E…
If our most popular post of 2015, which introduced the brilliant and much coveted Blankie Tails , is any indication, there are now swarms of kids across America, flipping (ha) for their super-soft, well-made mermaid and shark tail blanke…
'Tis the season for graduations, whether you've got a new college graduate in the family, a niece or nephew graduating from high school, or like me, a sixth grader moving up to middle school. Sniff. While so many of us are looking for ju…
As much as my older kids love their electronics, good old-fashioned crafts still hold some appeal for them, especially if the finished product is something really worth making. And with summer vacation fast-approaching, I really want to …
You don't need to live in a galaxy far, far away to grab one of these cool inner-space worthy Star Wars kites from Think Geek on May the Fourth or any other day. And you won't even need the force to get one of these babies into the air -…
By now, the fashion fans among us surely know about the Pantone colors of the year , a dreamy serenity blue and a pretty rose quartz. While the colors were announced during the winter, I know I'm not generally big on pastels until the we…
I'm on bedtime duty when I visit my nieces, which means snuggling up and diving into really good stories -- tales of women beating the odds and achieving great things. Well, sorta. When we're done poo-pooing at the lions with Madeline , …
I love that it's become par for the course these days to raise our girls with the knowledge that they can do whatever they want and be whomever they aspire to be -- astronaut, organic farmer, singer, plumber, President. And we're all hop…
One of the coolest gift ideas I've ever seen for bibliophiles -- besides another book, of course -- is Litographs' literary tees that beautifully transpose the text of your favorite novel and print it, in its entirety, across a cotton te…
My five brilliant nieces are marching their way toward adolescence (well, one of them is technically crawling her way there at this time), and while I do my best to introduce them to the joys of science, Star Wars, sports, and all the po…
I've just discovered the cutest new handbag, The Kinsley Kat, and it's likely to be pouncing to the top of a few of our accessory wish lists for spring. Designer Sylvia Soo created this adorable clutch for her young niece, but its unders…
You know what they say: If you're lucky enough to be Irish, then you're lucky enough. Yet on St. Patrick's Day, we couldn't resist posting about his adorable little wishbone lucky charm from one of our favorite indie jewelry companies, J…