On Flavorpill you will find music, art, fashion and other carefully selected events highlighted in five major U.S. cities: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Miami and Chicago. You can type in your email address to get the weekly newsletter for the urban area of your choice, and you’ll always know just what to do with your free time.

Better yet if you are traveling to one of the selected cities soon, use this online site to decide where the cool people hang out! Go there now and vote for what city you want Flavorpill to cover next.

Continue reading “Wednesday Website – Flavorpill”

While the name used to be synonymous with the ladies that came door to door peddling makeup, the Avon of today is so much more. I recently received some items from their fashion and accessory line that shattered any preconceived notions I had about Avon.

As a working mom, I’m always looking for fashion forward pieces for my wardrobe that won’t break the bank. I was thrilled when I received Avon’s black Shirred Knit Top. The fabric was soft, cut was extremely flattering, versatile since it can be dressed up or down, washable (always a plus for any mom!), and a bargain for $24.99.

With designs to complement anyone’s personal style, Avon’s jewelry line can add some pizzazz to items already in your closet or bling out your look without breaking the bank. Check out the Crystal Rhinestone Lace Ring on sale for $14.99 which is fun cocktail ring for holiday parties without the fine jewelry price tag.

Continue reading “Avon: Fashion Forward and Not Your Mother’s Makeup Line”

Welcome to Must Have Monday’s. Every Monday our reviewers will let you have a sneak peak into what we use in our homes and our lives. Here we will tell you about the things we can’t live without. If you have a “must have” item to pass along please e-mail us. We welcome contributions from our readers and are always looking for new reviewers.

After trying to determine if I should purchase a stationary walker or a doorway jumper for my son, I came across the Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo. I read the reviews and decided to purchase it. I can honestly say this was a wonderful investment. It combined my son’s two most favorite things, jumping and playing! My son started using it when he was 4 months old and he has been jumping faithfully for 4 months! He absolutely loves it. There are many colorful toys surrounding his seat that he can play with.

The Jumperoo adjusts to 3 different levels, so it grows with him. I don’t know what we are going to do when he outgrows it! It is very stable so I don’t have to worry about it tipping over or him falling as with some of the doorway jumpers. The cost is between $69.00-$89.00, but it is well worth the money spent!

Continue reading “Must Have Monday’s 47″

Magazine Subscription – Try fashion, craft ideas, music, or pop culture. This helps with her creativity and is a nice surprise every week or month in the mail.

Boxed Set of Greeting Cards- I found this amazing set of cards at Costco for $12.99 and it is stocked with beautiful handmade cards for all kinds of occasions. This is a wonderful gift so that you always the right type of card on hand. These are a great communication tool for writing to friends and family without a constant trip to the store. It has come in so handy when she has a birthday party to attend or just wants to send a note to a friend.

Monogrammed Towels – I order them after the first month as an anniversary with our family gift. I find them very reasonably at Horchow, with free personalization and free shipping offers they are about $10 a piece or $20 for a set of two. Use this link and the coupon code “WELCOME” to save an additional 10%.

Continue reading “Fun and Thrifty Gift Ideas for Teachers, Babysitters & Others On Your List”

Kermit can’t sing his trademark tune any longer. The sentiment that “it’s not easy being green,” is just passé. The last couple of years you can’t seem to turn around without seeing green products everywhere you shop, and that’s a great thing!

A couple of years ago, when we moved into our new home, I was determined not to use any toxic or chemical cleaners. Not only for the safety of my family, but also for the longevity of my new counter tops, appliances, fixtures and flooring. I had a few criteria that needed to be met though; mainly price, scent and it actually had to clean without too much hard scrubbing on my part! It took me a few tries and some of that other green stuff ($) to finally find a product line that I was happy with, but I did, and actually the one I liked the most surprised even me!

Made by a large corporation known for toxins and chemicals, Clorox turned over a new leaf (a green one even), and created a line called Green Works. Each of their products is over 99% natural ingredients that are biodegradable. They are not tested on animals and use recycled packaging. Plant based materials are the composition of the cleaners and the best part is they work!

Continue reading “It’s Easy Using Green With Clorox Green Works”

Happy Thanksgiving from Props & Pans. May you enjoy yourselves today and rest tonight, so that tomorrow you may join the millions of people who rise before the crack of dawn in search of the All- American bargain!

Here are some hints for Black Friday Deals:

Dick’s Sporting Goods

• Carhartt Workzone Jacket $39.98
• Nuvi 205 Wide GPS Auto Navigation System $149.98
• Adidas Beckham Gold Soccer Ball $9.98
• All Ammunition Buy 1 Get 1 50% off
• Goalrilla Inground BasketballSystem $599.98
• TopFlite XL3000 15 Pack Golfballs $5.00

Costco

• Colorado Clothing Fleece Lounge Pants $6.99
• Olympus FE-370 8.0 MP Digital Camera $119.99
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer Professional HD Series $229.99
• Sharp Aquos 52″ 1080p HDTV $300 OFF

Continue reading “Black Friday Sales Galore! Find Out Who Has What & For How Much!”

Cool Baby Kid, the original Baby Kid blog, was established in November 2005 as a place for moms to find cool products and resources for themselves and their families. Each post includes cool picks on products, tips for consumers on where to make purchases and how to take advantage of special promotions, and cool giveaways.

Smart Baby Kid, also a product and resource review blog, focuses specifically on educational toys, games, websites, books, DVD’s and much more. With a PhD in Education, Curriculum and Instruction, Language and Literacy, and over ten years experience as an educator, Smart Baby’s editor, Dr. Cecelia Mecca, utilizes her expertise to help families find the best education products.

Continue reading “Wednesday Websites – All About Kids”

Props & Pans is giving two lucky readers a Air Hog Helicopter. Chances are you’ve either seen these small flying objects on TV commercials or you’ve seen this toy on your child’s Christmas wish list. If you haven’t already heard about them, then you can read our review here.

To enter visit the Academy of Model Aeronautics website and leave a comment here telling us one of the 10 reasons you should join the AMA . The contest is open until December 2, 2008.

You can receive a second entry by blogging about the contest (linking to it) or adding us to your blogroll. Just e-mail us with a live link or let us know you have it posted on your site. You do not need a blog to enter, just leave us your e-mail address so that we may contact you. As always, it is Props & Pans policy NOT to distribute any information you give us (including your e-mail). Thanks for entering!

If you want to make a 6 year old boys day, just bring home a box that contains a remote control helicopter from Air Hogs. This is what I did a few weeks ago with our son and although I knew he would be ecstatic over the new toy, I was concerned that it might require more skill to control the indoor flying machine than he had developed thus far.

The Havoc Heli might seem pint sized, but it packs some power that you control. It was a great way to challenge our son’s hand-eye coordination. It did take him several practices to learn to control the lift off and landing, but the practice has been good for him. He doesn’t seem to mind needing to practice flying a helicopter, unlike practicing learning to read.

One major prop is that it charges in about 15 minutes, which is good because most young children do not have the patience to wait. This should allow for around 6 minutes of flight time. You will need 6 AA batteries (which are not included) and that does seem crazy that such a small toy would need so many batteries.

Continue reading “Tough and Tiny Air Hogs Helicopters Let Small Hands Develop Skills”

My sons and I were familiar with Bob the Builder. We had never watched any of the episodes, but we knew Bob. We knew his work and we respected him as one fine builder. When we received the Bob the Builder: Big Build Collection, I had mixed feelings. I try to choose shows that are going to teach something and, honestly, I didn’t know enough about Bob the Builder to know whether or not it would just be mindless entertainment (which, of course, has its place!). When he saw what was in the package, my 2-year-old son could hardly control his excitement. He is going through an all-things-construction phase and to have not one but three DVDs about talking construction friends, well that was almost too much! Our set contained three DVDs: When Bob Became a Builder, Scoop’s Favorite Adventures and Teamwork!

When Bob Became a Builder
Bob the Builder and his Can-Do Crew can build just about anything! Like any great builder, he had to start with a dream, the right tools, and the right team! Join Benny and Scrambler and be there are they learn about When Bob Became a Builder! See Bob’s first building job with his Dad and Robert and see when he became partners with Wendy! Travel back to Bob’s early years as he meets Scoop, Muck, Dizzy, Lofty, and Roley and watch as he starts a building yard of his own! From his very first brick to his latest plan, it’s the story of Bob from boy to builder! Running time is approximately 50 minutes.

Continue reading “Bob the Builder: Did We Watch It? Yes, We Did!”