trendy mommies

Tis’ the season for running around at the last minute…fa la la la la!

This morning on New England Cable News we were discussing stocking stuffer gift ideas. Here are some of the great finds we absolutely love!

• Bloom Black Ties.com - it’s a pony tail holder made to look like jewelry on your wrist.  What  a great invention – how many of you have a black pony tail holder on your wrist right now?? Buy these chic ones and you’ll never be embarrassed again with a line of hair ties on your wrist!
• Speaking of hair ties, DimannoDesigns.com has great handcrafted ponytail holders ($12.00)  and wrist cuffs ($33.00 and up)  – perfect for your teens.
• I love TarteCosmetics.com This line is a favorite of mine as their products are made with vitamins, minerals and natural fruit and plant extracts and they are formulated without parabens, phthalates and synthetic fragrances. puttin’ on the glitz limited-edition color collection & clutch is worth it as it is a clutch and has THREE compacts that you can choose from ($48.00)
• If you want to give your little princess a little bling try ostbye.com Ostbye: Little Diva Diamonds™ collection:  They retail for under $150 and the company offers pendants, bracelets, and earrings. Each piece features a real diamond and sterling silver design.
• It seems a lot of kids this season are requesting watches.  RUBR watches - Interchangeable, fun, colorful watches  ($25)
• Bike Glow.com is great for kids.  It’s a fun, safe way to light up your bike. ($25.00)

Here are some organic finds:

• Glee gum.com is a company is based in Providence, RI that makes all natural, no preservatives,  fun,  flavored gum. The make your own chewing gum makes 50 sticks – all ingredients in the kit including the pan  ($13.00)
• For your artists - Glob IT ON.com paint set  all natural colors made from fruits and veggies, flowers and spices ($15.00)
• Kids love hot chocolate so they will need a reusable cup:  Keepcup.com is a  BPA free, kids re-usable cup for hot cocoa  ($10.00)

We love our treats during the holidays and these are sure to bring a smile on a child’s face or a great gift to bring to your neighbors or anyone you visit this season.

• An Osterville, MA mom created my little cup cake pop.com -- these are very trendy. They have no bake recopies on their web site . The cake pop mold is fun and easy to use  ($5.95)
• Lake Champlain chocolates – fresh, all natural from VT starting at 10 dollars
• Other fun candy like Rudolf’s boogers (ha, ha)  can be found at: www.niftycandy.com
• Dancing Deer.com is a favorite of mine. Based in Boston but available online and at Whole Foods, these Whole Grain Chocolate Chip Cookies are the best. The Whole Grain PB& J squares are new. The sward winning Chocolate Chunk Brownies have been named “America’s Best Tasting Brownie” based on a recent blind taste test in City Hall Plaza, Boston and a national consumer survey. They all come in the perfect stocking stuffer size)

Tomorrow we will tackle the toy list and warm weather fashions and accessories!

Ah the Oscars!  The glitz, the glamour, the hosts – oh no. Everyone was tweeting last night about the fashions, the hosts and the winners. It was fun to be a part of the conversations.  I thought the hosts did fine but James Franco did look a bit like he did not want to be there.  No big surprises for the actual Oscar winners so let’s get to the fashions. The trends for the evening were lots of color (hello red), some lace and shimmer.  The best dressed in my opinion was Sandra Bullock and of course Hailee Steinfeld looked adorable. Of course Halle Berry looks great as always.  The worst dressed in my opinion was Cate Blanchett’s and that dress – yikes.  My favorite places to hear all about the Oscar wrap ups are Entertainment Tonight and US Weekly.  What were your favorites?

Trendymommies was on local radio station WCAP to discuss holiday shopping tips, unusual gift ideas and trends for gifts this season!

TrendymommiesGifts

Sephora has some great gift ideas for moms, dads, sisters, wives, etc. and many items are packed and ready to go! Check out the trendymommies video.

My friend invited me to a fashion show at the Four Seasons in Boston this past weekend and it was fun.  Lots of jewelry, clothes and fashionable people!

I did not realize it was a benefit and fundraiser for this great organization called Ovations for the cure of ovarian cancer. http://www.ovationsforthecure.org

Please do go to the web site to see how this organization got started from the courage of one woman…

The fashion show featured Stuart Weitzman’s fall 2010 line as well as designs from Michael De Paulo Couture’s new spring 2011 line.

We loved the jewelry by Catalina Delatorre and especially the way it was presented. Check out the photos….Simply a work of art!

http://www.catalinadelatorre.com

In my search for the perfect back to school lunch bag I wanted to make sure the ones I give my kids are PVC free. Of course I love LLBean back packs and according to their web site their lunch boxes are tested for no lead, phthalates or PVCs. They have every color imaginable!  http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/844?nav=gnrost

I just discovered the fuel line of products for the kids! Designed well and in matching colors….just perfect! Plus they are affordable! Tested the insulated lunch bag, the dry snack container and stainless steel water bottle and my kids loved them. Check out their other products too as they come in four fun colors. All are lead free, no PVC and no Bisphenol-A! I love how the snack container has a clip for easy backpack access and the foldable cutlery set is a perfect fit for lunch boxes.  

http://www.trudeaucorp.com/us/products/fuel/default.html

http://thesoftlanding.com/kids-lunches.html

Ever notice how the kids toys pile up and you have no place to put them? I have a great fabric bin storage system that I use for the kids toys that I got at…surprise..target! But am always looking for places to put their stuffed animals.

The Container store has some great bins so you cannot go wrong there.

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Product.jhtml?searchId=20683774&itemIndex=3&CATID=71232&PRODID=10012560

Ikea also has these mesh storage containers that are great and colorful. The hanging ones are a great space saver and are only $1.49!

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10098505

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90096786

But when I discovered Boon Inc. I was in heaven.  This company makes the best products.  The oval animal bag is the cutest thing.  It also doubles as a seat too so it would look great in a bedroom.  The trio animal bag is even bigger and will accommodate even the biggest collector of stuffed animals.

http://www.booninc.com/products/OvalAnimalBag/802

Much has been in the news recently about style on a budget.  From the Today Show, to numerous women’s magazines it’s all about shopping on a budget and looking within to update what you have. Here are some tips for this spring season!

·         Look at what you have in your closet before you shop – I know I have numerous items that if you just add a belt, earrings or a necklace,  a whole outfit is waiting to get out of my closet….which leads me to…..

·         Accessories can be recession proof – Necklaces, earrings and belts are all an easy and affordable way to dress up any outfit.  As I mentioned before I love Banana Republic and J Crew for accessories but some of my favorite bargain stores to shop accessories are Forever 21 and Aldo accessories

·         Shop the discount stores – for us in New England that can range from TJ Maxx, Filenes Basement to the new Nordstrom’s Rack!

·         The top trends this season include exposed zippers, ruffles, fringes, neon and mini florals. Check out the today show segment on fashion under $50.00

For those of you who have kids (especially girls who like to sing) with the obsession with High School Musical ever end?  We of course have the DVD 1 & 2, the music CD’s (one and two) and various products from notebooks, keychains to folders and t-shirts!  I think it’s a cute movie and recently while shopping I uncovered a whole slew of cute products (leading a friend to say are these for you or the kids?)  Now there is a website to pick up all your (um, your kids) High School Musical-related gadgets.

And for those who have been living under a rock for the last 6 months here is what the hype is all about (taken from an official press release!!

About High School Musical

Over the course of its twelve airings (January 20-April 21, 2006), “High School Musical” reached 36.5 million unique total viewers (persons 2+), 20.1 million households, 10.3 million kids 6-11 and 11.1 million tweens 9-14. A Disney Channel Original Movie, “High School Musical” is a contemporary “break into song” production. The comedic movie tells the story of two teens who must learn to believe in themselves despite the polarization of high school cliques. The premiere of “High School Musical” delivered the highest ever Household ratings for Disney Channel original programming. Traffic to DisneyChannel.com surged with the premiere of “High School Musical.” Within a 24-hour period after its January 20 premiere, 1.2 million unique visitors logged on to DisneyChannel.com – the most ever for the site.

Get more great High School Musical Stuff here.

As summer is over and the kids are in school now it’s time to get organized!  As one working mom to another I really need to get organized as it’s been months since I blogged!  But I promise the next few entries will be filled with insight, guidance and fun gadgets for moms (whether you are a stay at home working mom or at an office working mom – we all are working hard at everything we do! )

I really am obsessed with notebooks and calendars!  If you are like me you might have a couple or so notebooks to jot things down in. But now with a first grader and pre-schooler I have a TON of school related paperwork that honestly I keep each child’s stuff in a high school musical folder (more on that topic later)  I discovered there are plenty of “mom organizers” out there. What a great concept!  I wish I invented some of these cute and fashionable organizers.

BusyBodyBook’s is more like a GRID so you can plan and track kids activities – fun colors too.
 
This Go mom Home Organizer has 12 Undated Monthly pockets for expense reporting, bills, coupons, etc.

The momAgenda Kitchen Folio is perfect for filling papers from school, sports, and extracurricular activities, class lists menus etc. – adorable.  This site also offers the must-have momAgenda. You may have seen this in all the women’s magazines.  It has a week-at-a-view format with space for mom and up to four children. Comes in 5 stylish colors. 

Of course my favorite site to order all my fun and fashionable items for work is seejanework. Where do I begin here? They have everything – school supplies, filing systems, journals and notebooks even eco-friendly office products.

Check it out!