The Black and White trend is back for Fall 2014 and we noticed quite a few of our Bellyitch Bumpwatch alums have recently rocked the trend on the red carpet to events.
We are loving the script art crop top and matching pants that Mel B wore at the America’s Got Talent’ Post-Show Red Carpet held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Jennifer Lopez too was spotted in the black and white during the New Orleans stop at the American Idol auditions tour. She wore a $3,490 Valentino Bow Embellished Wool Blend dress.
Bellyitch blogger Posh (middle) and many of her friends who joined her to celebrate her birthday earlier this year wore Black and White and it wasn’t even planned that way.
Pregnant ladies too can rock the trend in black and white maternity dresses this season or mixing it up like the celebs in the featured header post above.
In an era where subscription boxes seem to have lost their allure, there remains a steadfast niche: parents seeking creative ways to engage and educate their children.
As a parent myself, I found solace and delight in toy and book subscription boxes for my little ones.
Recently, while exploring options for my goddaughter, I stumbled upon a treasure trove of STEM boxes, reigniting my curiosity.
I got caught into the weeds but think I’m going to go with but here are the results of my finds including my partners at MelScience:
Mel Science: STEM kit offers engaging and educational experiments for curious young minds. The materials in each kit are super high quality. Each project comes with instructions that are clear and easy to read.
The steps are truly hands-on learning experiences in various scientific fields.
From chemistry to physics, these kits inspire children to explore and understand the world around them in a fun and interactive way.
It compares to another STEM kit my children have used and loved: Creation Crate.
It’s also a subscription box but also sells one-off kits!
With the monthly boxes, your child gets a hands-on coding experience to build electronics and learn programming basics.
Creation Crate focuses on electronics and programming, while Mel Science offers a comprehensive approach with virtual lessons.
I love this about the Creation Crate moto:CRITICAL THINKERS ARE MADE, NOT BORN
Becoming a critical thinker takes work.
Flex your critical thinking muscles with the challenges and problem-solving mindset required to finish a Creation Crate project.
My son tinkered with his Creation Crate subscription when he was 15 years old.
He has always been fascinated with taking apart tech that he started fixing laptops at home.
Today, he is a fourth year STEM student at a top ranked university.
For younger kids , ages 8–14, I looked into a few other popular options:Bitsbox:
Voted as the #1 STEM box for kids, Bitsbox introduces children to coding through hands-on projects.
Your child starts with coding examples and quickly progress to creating their own apps, fostering a deep understanding of computer programming.
Bitsbox is suitable for beginners with no prior coding experience.
Each kit includes a helpful Grownup Guide and unlimited email support, making it easy for both kids and parents to get started.
It’s real computer programming while having fun and kids learn to create various applications, including video games, greeting cards, and simulations, all of which work on real phones and tablets.
For even younger kids as young as age 6, look to CodeWizardsHQ.
It offers live online coding classes for kids, offering personalized instruction and projects in a collaborative virtual environment.
This option is very cool for children who already are showing an interest in STEM or even for those who are not sure and want to tinker around to see how things work under the hoos.
I also like the maker of TinkerCrate Kiwico Kiwi ‘s other offerings which includecoding projects alongside a variety of STEM activities, fostering creativity and problem-solving skills in kids.
It was founded by a mom who is also an engineer and I can tell she put her everything in each subscription box!
Founder Sara Oh Lin left her corporate job to create a company that celebrates kids’ natural creativity and curiosity, while helping parents who want to bring enriching experiences to their children.Love it!
It can be difficult to holiday shop for that woman who has everything.
Think the CEO or boss of your small company, a high net worth corporate executive or law partner, the jetset babe or your Chanel Princess bff who also happens to be a trust fund baby.
And because getting a $27,000 Tiffany Yellow diamond or a $371,000 Himalayan Birkin bag may be out of the budget, you have to settle for the next best things.
Lucky for you I’ve curated the below list with the help of some mom lawyer friends of mine I know who are in the know.
The luxe fragrance house sells six decorated baubles that can be reused each year and hidden inside each one is a duo of surprises including Colognes, a Miniature Candle and Bath & Body essentials.
Treat her with a collection of exquisite chocolate from New Hampshire-based L.A. Burdick Chocolatiers Burdick Critters Collection. All the critters are made individually by hand, meaning each is unique and no two are alike. Includes wood box of 16 Chocolate Mice, wood box of 9 Chocolate Snowmen, wood box of 6 Chocolate Pigs, wood box of 9 Chocolate Penguins, and 1/4 lb. Everyday Chocolate Assortment.
The performance jogger by Vuori is slim but relaxed fit with a slightly cropped leg, side pockets and a drawstring. Designed with their softest premium stretch fabric, they’re your new go-to. Great for traveling, yoga, training and chilling. It comes in a variety of colors and shades and in sizes XXS to XXL.
She will love to be blanketed in the luxurious warmth of a soft chenille throw from the Barefoot Dreams Store and you can practically feel the softness through the screen.
If your rich misses is like a lot of women who enjoy fragrant homes, then she will thoroughly enjoy filling her abode in this intoxicating signature scent behind NEST New York’s iconic fragrance which is a blend of pink pomelo grapefruit with watery green notes, lily of the valley and coriander blossom. The Classic Candle is meticulously crafted with a proprietary premium wax formulated to burn cleanly and evenly, while the Reed Diffuser is made with the highest quality oils to release continuous fragrance for 90 days, uninterrupted.
Your receipient will love to lay her head down and protect her crown with a silk pillow covering. It is a brand of silk cases recommended by dermatologists, hairstylists & beauty experts and is made of the highest grade (6A) long fibre mulberry silk, and without the use of dyes.
If you’re seeing this on Cyber Week 2020, get 25% off with the code Cyber at check out.
Any dress in any print from Boden could be worn at a variety of events, openings, meetings, formal or informal outings. This Mila Midi Dress with its colorful and attractive stripes would do perfectly!
It’s practically half off down from $198 right now but not sure how long this will last.
The Yeti ramblem with the megslider lid is the perfect gift for a coffee or tea drinker or anyone who loves to sip slowly because it keeps hot drinks very hot and cold drinks super cold for long periods of time. It’s a winner that I’ve personally enjoyed and highly recommend.
Go from the yoga studio to the coffeee shop and back in this highly coveted and well rated wrap from Gap’s athleisure brand, Athleta. And it has pockets! Yes to this.
When it comes to baby showers, the shower games are easy to plan.
The party — either an in-person affair or a virtual shower — is a snap. But the gift? Well, that’s something else entirely. The Good Housekeeping Institute (GHI) can help. The parenting experts and engineers in the GHI Little Lab test baby gear throughout the year, so they know what items are worth the investment.
It’s a safe bet that the big-ticket products — the best car seats and strollers and cribs — will be spelled out on some sort of baby registry or list, since parents need to figure out what brands work best for them and what features they require based on their personal needs. But when it comes to the nice-to-haves as opposed to the need-to-haves, the sky’s the limit.
Here is some of the GHI’s best-rated gear, along with fun best-sellers and little items you can add to a wishing well. Pick one up for your shower gift, and the parents will definitely thank you later. (And forgive them if they do so in a 5 am text, since they’ll be up for those early-morning feeds.) And, after the baby finally arrives, be sure to check back to see some of the Institute’s favorite baby gifts, too.
If you know the baby’s name already, you can buy a snuggly friend that is uniquely his or hers. The blanket-style lovey doll comes in many different animals, and you can also specify the font and thread color.
It’s never too early to start building a baby’s library. This collection features board books with four favorite fairy tales — Rapunzel, Snow White, Cinderella and The Princess and the Pea — each drawn in a style from a different country, including Japan, Mexico, India and Russia.
Not only do these muslin blankets come in cute prints, they have many uses. They can be swaddles, burp cloths, nursing covers or something to spread out on the floor for tummy time. Parents can never have too many.
It’s not the most beautiful gift, but once your recipients see how this diaper pail keeps smells at bay — complete with an Arm & Hammer cartridge to neutralize odors — they’ll be grateful. Just remember to include refill bags.
Make bath time fun time — for parents and babies — with this bath set, which includes a soft spout cover, a kneeler so parents can get comfy kneeling in front of the bath, a padded elbow rest (with a pocket!) and no-slip mat for inside the bath.
Between packing diapers, loading up on binkies and hearing “Baby Shark” on an internal loop, new-parent life begins to feel all-consuming. Let this sleek looking diaper bag be the one adult thing you have. We’re big fans of a backpack (hands-free!), and this one is smartly designed with easy-to-clean vegan leather, tons of pockets and adjustable straps.
Teens are a daunting demographic to buy for. They’re often the first people clued into the newest products and cultural phenomena that you’re probably not as aware of — but they also don’t have the deep pockets to get everything they want for themselves. Thankfully, that leaves plenty of opportunities open for you.
Here are our faves!
Reusable straws
$7.99
Help teens do their part to keep single-use plastics out of trash bins, landfills, and the ocean by giving them this pack of reusable silicone drinking straws. They come in various colors and include a few cleaning brushes as well.
What’s better than feeling refreshed after a cleansing face mask? Sixteen of them. This combo pack features 16 different face masks like aloe, charcoal, and cucumber so your teen will be set … at least for the next few weeks.
The Noco Boost Plus is a powerful battery that’s small enough to fit under the passenger seat, but it packs enough power to jump-start any vehicle with a 6-liter engine or smaller — and do it 20 times before needing a recharge. It also offers a USB port for charging various devices and has an integrated flashlight with a strobe setting for extra safety at night
It’s in the car, the house, and their pocket these days, but many hand sanitizers can smell a little like household cleaner. Touchland comes in scents like Vanilla Cinnamon and Forrest Berry, or keep it simple and choose unscented. The compact sanitizer features 67% alcohol for killing germs but balances it with soothing aloe vera and essential oils to hydrate the skin.
PopSockets have become their own cultural phenomenon in recent years, and they’re surprisingly useful. Get your teen one for their own phone or tablet, and depending on their age, you may find it’s the gift they’re most excited about. It doesn’t hurt that there’s free domestic shipping on orders over $20, or that you can actually design your own.
Kindle Paperwhite (8 GB) – Now with a 6.8″ display and adjustable warm light
$139.99
Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite is its thinnest, lightest version. It also has double the storage, a built-in light that adjusts to accommodate reading indoors or outdoors, and is waterproof for reading anywhere, including the beach or bath. Plus, a single battery charge lasts weeks rather than hours.
One great element of a seaside vibe is the use of woven woods and grasses.
Here the chair and rocking horse bring that element to life in the nursery. These natural materials lend a casual but important bit of style to our nursery space.
Check out the Furniture and décor that bring together this room
Rattan Rocking Horse for the Coastal Woven Nursery
A timeless toy with a beautiful, made-to-last design, our Rattan Rocking Horse will be cherished by the little ones in your family for years to come. Toddlers and kids will love to gently rock on this simple, heirloom-quality rocking horse. And when it’s not in use, you’ll be happy to have this gorgeous toy in the kids room and playroom. Constructed from natural rattan and cane, it features an intricate weave and a classic look, which means it doubles as a sweet piece of decor.
When you’re not an interior decorator or have the knack to decorate, throw pillows are a great start for an amateur. This pom pom-patterned and square-shaped accent pillow adds a nice pop of color and it shows you have a flair for style. This square pillow is made of 100% linen. It features a zippered back, and it comes in a rich,deep color that’s beautiful and complements any sofa or bed.
Effiom Floral Handmade Looped/Hooked Wool Midnight/Plum Area Rug
Created in collaboration with artist and painter, this collection captures the essence of a traditional floral painting whilst providing the softness and comfort of a rug. Hooked of 100% wool by skilled artisans, this collection flourishes with color making it versatile enough for any home.
The modern styles within the Haley collection are created with a metal base and cotton shade. This minimalist table lamp is made in India and features a 3-way switch. For optimal product care, wipe clean with a dry cloth.
They’ll be wild times, that’s for sure just like on being on safari. Bring zebras, giraffes and lions along on this wonderful journey with your cheeky little monkey.
If you have gone on safari or aspire to go on safari, you can incorporate this theme as you embark on this wonderful journey with your little one like what mrspunkybreester and her husband did.
Scoot 3-in-1 Convertible Crib with Toddler Bed Conversion Kit
The Babyletto Scoot 3-in-1 Convertible Crib is the perfect centerpiece for your mid-century modern nursery! Contrast horizontal lines paired with the angular feet create a retro-inspired, charming vibe for your baby’s new space. Modern and functional, an included toddler bed conversion kit allows you to easily go from crib to toddler bed to daybed as your little one grows.
Delta Children Reston Glider Swivel Rocker in Sailor Blue
Expertly crafted with plush upholstery and thickly padded armrests for added comfort, this upholstered chair gently swivels and rocks to help soothe your baby to sleep.
White And Natural Seagrass Paige Tote Basket With Lid
Keep blankets and toys neatly stowed under the knot-top lid of our shapely tote basket. Handcrafted in Bangladesh of a stylish, sturdy mix of natural seagrass and white recycled plastic, it’s available in small and large sizes.
Keekaroo Peanut Changer is unlike any other diaper changing pad! Its strong outer shell makes it impermeable to ”any” fluid, so clean up is easy. That solid shell on the diaper changing pad also limits bacteria growth or deterioration.
The subtly distressed polypropylene pile is patterned with a geometric tribal design, available in seven unique color schemes. Stain-resistant and easy to clean, this durable carpet is ideal for busy living rooms and entryways.
The combination of white faux fur and a gold-finish base give this Kelly stool from Silver Orchid a hip Bohemian glow that will look great anywhere in your home. The seat is thickly padded so you can use it as extra seating, as a place to sit in front of a vanity, or as a seat for a low desk.
Beautiful textile poster. The material consists of a wrinkle-free textile. Thanks to the high-quality print quality, the colors come out beautifully on this smooth material. The poster is drawn between beech wooden sticks, and the rope for hanging has a leather look. No screws or hooks are supplied for wall-mounting.
Beautiful teWE-INSPIRING PLUSH GIRAFFE: The Melissa & Doug Giant Giraffe Lifelike Stuffed Animal is an awe-inspiring plush toy with realistic details and beautiful markings.
A nursery calls for adorable decor for sure, but you’ll also need furniture and baby bedding that will make infant care all the easier (and safer).
Here are the baby essentials for any nursery:
1. Crib, cradle or bassinet
Deciding on the right crib is a huge decision. Not only is it the foundation of the nursery, it also keeps your new addition safe as they slumber away.
Here are some ideas:-
Little Seeds Monarch Hill Ivy Metal Crib
Modeled after wrought iron furnishings of the period, this crib’s arched metal tubes and decorative ball castings reflect timeless elegance. Adjust the mattress to three different heights as baby grows, and give your little darling a refined sleeping spot that lasts.
Inspired by the clean lines and ingenuity of Dutch design, nuna offers baby gear that’s simple, practical and stylish. Each and every product is designed to include thoughtful solutions to make family life that much easier. From high chairs and strollers to travel cribs and car seats, nuna provides premium baby gear you and yours can trust for years to come, designed around your life.
2. Firm, flat mattress that fits snugly in the crib
Complete Slumber Waterproof Mini Crib Mattress
The DaVinci Complete Slumber Waterproof Mini Crib Mattress is designed with high-density fibre fill for an extra firm sleeping surface that is GREENGUARD Gold certified, so your baby can sleep safely and comfortably. Parents can easily change crib sheets with this ultra-lightweight mattress that weighs only 3.75 lbs! This mattress features a waterproof, tear-resistant cover that will stay new through years of use.
Albertslund 2-Stage Waterproof Bassinet Mattress is made from 2″-thick medium-firm foam for a soft, yet supportive feel to help your baby get comfy. It’s wrapped in an easy-to-clean vinyl shell to protect it from overnight accidents and all manner of messes that come with babies. Sporting a solid hue to match with any aesthetic, an included mattress sheet features an elasticized hem to fit snugly around the mattress to round out the design.
The upholstered swivel glider chair will be the most comfortable spot in your home to relax. Nursing mothers and babies will love how the smooth gliding motion helps put the little one to sleep while the thickly padded seat cushion, seatback, and armrests provide blissful comfort. The swivel chair is upholstered in a soft, durable, easy-care fabric that works well in any room – not just the nursery. Our transitional styling harmonizes with contemporary and traditional décor. Available in sand beige, stone blue, and light gray colors.
Multi-Purpose Smart HD WiFi Baby Monitoring System, Monitoring Camera
Monitor and stay connected from any location. Advanced secure wireless connection prevents any unauthorized access. MobiCam offers powerful night vision, two way audio with playback of your recordings.
A perfect solution for small spaces, this compact changing table from the Cotton Candy collection provides everything you need for a changing table and dresser. Its 3 large drawers give you all the storage space you need for clothing, bedding, and toys. The beveled top edge, long legs, and white ceramic knobs make this piece special. Once baby outgrows the changing table, easily transform it into a dresser by removing the changing pad. The changing table is perfect for babies up to 30 lb.
With its streamlined design and functionality, the 5 drawer dresser with changing top is a perfect choice for your growing child. The innovative construction combines a smart and stylish dresser with an incredibly convenient changing station, with the addition of an included, removable changing top. Offering ample space for all of your child’s essentials, its sturdy construction, and multipurpose design will be enjoyed for years to come.
There are all these and more thoughtful and sentimental gift ideas for daughters to give their mom (ahem, those yummy meals she made when you were growing up and the fact that she’s still letting you piggyback off the family phone plan).
Okay, yes, it is a tad early to start holiday shopping right now—but mama didn’t raise no procrastinator. Not to mention, shipping delays are gonna make the season a bit of a mess, so the earlier the better!
Iin general, getting a jumpstart before all the Post-Thanksgiving shopping madness ensues is a really smart move if ya asked me, which is why we’re here with a ton of gift ideas your mom would love.
Now, I don’t know anyone who will say no to some shiny new jewels or a life-changing book or even a luxe skincare kit that she can treat herself to for an at-home spa experience. (Of course, it’s extra special if you join her. I don’t make the rules!)
There’s all these and more thoughtful and sentimental gift ideas for daughters to give their moms, below.
The Tarot Trio
$115
Nope, these aren’t your regular candles. Each votive represents the user’s past, present, and future. And inside each is a different tarot card charm. When the wax melts down, Mom can pluck out the charm with a pair of tweezers (included in the kit!) and interpret the meaning of the assigned tarot via the little booklet (also included in the kit!). Perfect for anyone who’s down for a spot of self-reflection and spiritual work, this candle trio would make for a sweet gift.
Nope, these aren’t your regular candles. Each votive represents the user’s past, present, and future. And inside each is a different tarot card charm. When the wax melts down, Mom can pluck out the charm with a pair of tweezers (included in the kit!) and interpret the meaning of the assigned tarot via the little booklet (also included in the kit!). Perfect for anyone who’s down for a spot of self-reflection and spiritual work, this candle trio would make for a sweet gift.
For a lasting keepsake, transform her favorite photo into a custom jigsaw puzzle. You can choose from 12-, 60-, and 252-piece sets and tons of cute designs for a gift that’s totally her.
