We love Skip*Hop products; they're well designed, well made, and make your life easier as a mom or dad (and more fun!). Diaperbags are a new category for us, and due to the success of the Skip*Hop Duo, we're VERY excited to welcome Skip*Hop's snazziest diaperbag design - the Studio Tote! Having a baby doesn't mean you have to lose your sense of style. Gone are the days of the yucky, clunky diaperbag!

While I lived in Brooklyn, NY, I managed a high end children's boutique in the very trendy neighborhood of DUMBO (silly, I know - it stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).  It was basically the Brooklyn version of Puddlejumpers - cute clothes, awesome toys, and a great selection of essentials. As you can imagine, I saw moms from all walks of life - some kinda crazy (think Real Housewives), and some of the most amazing, down-to-earth moms I know. But every mom had one thing in common - their NYC fashion sense was just as important after they had their baby as before they were pregnant.  It's a good thing that these days, there are some amazing, stylish ways of being a prepared, organized super-mom!

The Studio Tote is amazing (it was one of our top sellers in Brooklyn). It looks like a snazzy shoulder bag, but it can handle anything you can dish out - spills, leaks, messes, you name it! The interior fabric is super easy to wipe clean, there are two insulated bottle pockets to keep drinks warm or cool, a matching changing pad is included and has its own pocket, and two straps make it a snap to hand from the handlebars of your stroller (without throwing things off balance). Plenty of pockets keep everything organized, and easy to find. The Studio is available at Puddlejumpers in 2 colors - Charcoal Dot, and Plum Burst.

A long time friend of mine (he'll be glad I didn't say old friend), who is in the throws of raising young children forwarded this article to me and I must share it!  As the owner of a small local business I spend every day watching Moms and their children in my store.  One of the best parts of my job is the wonderful conversations and interactions I am able to have with kids while Mom shops just a few feet away.  Many children are confident and self assured but so many more are timid and withdrawn.  I see many young mothers being hyper-vigilant about monitoring every movement of their little ones and I guess it's understandable given the times in which we live, but kids are missing out on the opportunities to interact on their own and their confidence suffers.

I'd never heard the term "Free Range Kids" before this article and I LOVE IT!!  I think our job as parents is to empower our children from day #1 to stand independent of us and I think we need to seek out safe opportunities for them to practice just that.  I hope you can take a minute to read this article and post a comment if you would like. 

Last weekend, mom and I braved the miles of aisles at the Jacob K Javits Center in NYC for the New York International Gift Fair! Now that we're back with a huge stack of catalogs, and our feet have had time to recover from all the walking, we can't wait for you guys to see all the amazing new stuff we found!

The Javits is HUGE, with over 2800 exhibitors and 3500 attendants to this show alone! It's a great place for new and upcoming companies to show off their stuff, while allowing tried-and-true favorites to touch base with their customers. It's always fun to see the cool displays each brand has come up with, and the new products coming from our favorite vendors!

We spent two full days roaming the aisles of exhibitors booths - we saw some old friends (Zutano, 3 Sprouts, Skip*Hop, and others), and found some new favorites. There are some really cool new items that will arrive in the store just in time to make it into your Easter baskets. I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say this; if you thought the 'Magic Socks' were cool (SUPER cool), then hold on to your hats! The new stuff will start arriving any day, and will continue to trickle in for the next two months.

We got a sneak peek at the new prints from Zutano, and they were FANTASTIC. I'm a huge fan of the owl print myself, but there's a new fox print for next fall that's just gorgeous. 3 Sprouts is at again, with a new raccoon bin, a new walrus towel (it's awesome), and a new storage caddy. The caddy has a handle, and 3 pockets along the back - it's not only great for diapers, but craft supplies, books, or toys-on-the-go!

The Gift Fair is always a good time, and it's fun to go back to NYC for a visit. We always make sure to visit the Brooklyn Diner for dinner (ironically, it's not located in Brooklyn), and avoid Times Square! Now it's time to hunker down for the rest of winter, and start getting geared up for spring - it will be here before you know it!