Tag: buzz

Hip Hip Hooray for Cynthia Rowley

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

Famed designer Cynthia Rowley, known for her vibrant, yet simple designs, is teaming up with Babies “R” Us to launch a line of exclusive baby basics. The collection, called Hooray, will include baby essentials such as layette, diaper bags, blankets, playwear.

Though this is Rowley’s first foray into the baby products market, this isn’t her first collaboration. A few years ago, Rowley, along with her best friend, teamed with Target to launch a line of home accessories called Swell. A huge fan of that line, many of our bathroom towels and accessories are from the hugely successful Swell collection.
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BRU is hoping that Hooray will appeal to the style and budget-conscious shoppers, which I know includes many, if not all, NKT readers. Layette and playwear ranges from $7.99 to $29.99, and bibs, blankets and diaper bags range from $5.99 to $39.99. The first photos of this collection exude such a sweet, simple, yet modern vibe. BRU said the clothes feature a variety of signature prints, plaids, and striped and dotted patterns, that use corduroy and chunky sweater knits–perfect for fall. From the sounds of it, Hooray will be a welcome addition at BRU.

Appaman AVONE Collection

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

School shopping…what? already? It’s hard to believe that it’s not even August yet and store shelves and racks have been filled with a plethora of school supplies and the latest threads for weeks. Yeah, weeks.

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I’m in the process of preparing a Back to School shopping guide that I’ll post in a few weeks, but until then, check out this recently launched collection from Appaman. Paying an homage to art and using their clothing as canvases, Appaman introduced the first collection of what they’ve dubbed, “wearable art capsule.”


The first collection features AVONE, a renowned NYC graffitti artist. Each piece in the collection has imagery photographed by AVONE and is tagged with his signature. AVONE and Appaman produced a four piece capsule collection for boys consisting of three long sleeve tees ($32) and a hoodie ($52). With their edgy, unique and cool tagged-inspired designs in the AVONE collection, I can’t wait to see what other artistic brilliance Appaman has up their sleeves. Or should I say on their sleeves.

Appaman clothing can be found online and in various retail locations.

Cybex Strollers Arrive in the U.S.

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

cybexHere’s a head’s up for you stroller aficionados:  the European brand, Cybex, is making its grand entrance onto the U.S. and Canadian markets.  The high-end strollers look both stylish and functional with its distinctive, bold colors and clean lines.  These umbrella-style strollers are described as being lightweight and travel-friendly, with easy maneuvering and quick-fold function.  Cybex strollers come in the Ruby, Onyx, Topaz and Callisto designs and based on their different functionalities, range from $140-350.

Always one to admire stylish but durable strollers, I’m particularly excited about this cybex-callisto-indigonew line.  Though I have yet to check out these strollers in person, I love the sleek design and the way the stroller seat is higher off the ground than other umbrella strollers.  My favorite of the group, the Callisto, seems versatile and multi-faceted with its various features; it touts a pram function, comfort suspension and a one-pull harness system.  I’d be interested to see how these strollers really withstand city streets and everyday use, which is obviously paramount for families like us.  I love the way the vibrant colors contrast with the light-colored frame. The design is a definite head-turner and reflects its German influence; compared to the umbrella strollers already on the market, Cybex could be the Volkswagen of strollers…or maybe even BMW.

Cybex strollers will be available on August 1st at select retailers.  The Cybex baby carrier will be available later this year as well.  If I ever have a chance to test drive these strollers, I’ll be sure to report back!

Spotted at BlogHer

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

While at BlogHer, I had the chance to peruse the Expo floor a few times. The Expo floor was basically a trade show for women bloggers that featured products to be used in the kitchen to spiffy vacuums to gold kiwis (based on Tweets, seemed like the belle of the ball!) and of course, the latest and greatest kids’ products.
Lucky me, I got to check out a few products that I’ve blogged about here on NKT.

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I took a look at the Complete Air Car Seat that features Safety 1st’s new Air Protect technology. As I envisioned, it’s a sleek-looking car seat that has the hard-to-miss side head cushions. The pictures of this car seat certainly don’t do it any justice, especially the cool brown and orange colored Complete Air car seat which first caught my attention. I liked that it’s not a huge seat, like the one we currently own. This car seat has definitely piqued my interest!

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I also spotted the Disney Netpal, the kid-friendly laptop that I blogged about last month. Again, it was much cooler in person.  It’s as petite as I imagined, but not overly kiddie-centric at all. The rep. at the booth walked me through a lot of its functions and reiterated its kid-friendliness.  After speaking to her, I was sold; I actually want one for myself, now :)  At $350, I thought it was a decent deal for what you get.  At this day and age, electronics, especially ones that are educational and functional for school-aged kids, are a great, if not imperative, investment.

Under the Sea with Jimi Rock

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

It’s no surprise, really, that online entertainment and education, especially the virtual world segment, has grown at an exponential pace over the last few years. In fact, according to research, over the course of 2008, an estimated 8 million teen and pre-teen kids in the U.S. visited virtual worlds on a regular basis.

One virtual world that I’ve become a fan of, after learning about it from the Go Green Expo this spring is, Jimi Rock Under the Sea Adventures. It brings a whole new perspective to education and exploration, with its emphasis on marine biology and environmentalism. Featuring a kid-friendly interface with vivid graphics, this virtual world has so many interesting and educational facets where school-aged kids can play games, take interactive quizzes, chat with friends create art and even learn about interesting new places and sea creatures.

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Giveaway winners

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

TruKid Sunblock sticks- Brandy, Kim and Melissa, please email your address at jen [at] nextkidthing [dot] com!
Kooky flash drive- Melissa, congrats! Brett, you’ve got some fuzzy slippers coming your way.
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Everyone else, thanks for participating as usual. Also, I’ll announce last week’s cd winner once I post the next Music Monday. Also, I’m busy writing up a slew up articles AND really great giveaways in honor of my trip to BlogHer this week, so stay tuned!!!

B is for Bob

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

61boxalpirl_sl500_aa240_His music is said to transcend genres, but with the recent release of B is for Bob, a collection of his most popular songs re-imagined for kids, Bob Marley’s influence is set to transcend even more generations.  The album, which was executive produced by his eldest son, Ziggy Marley, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Kid Audio and Reggae Albums Charts.

In eight of the tracks, including “Three Little Birds,” “Redemption Song,” “Bend Down Low,” “Jamming,” “Small Axe,” “Satisfy My Soul,” “Stir It Up” and “High Tide or Low Tide,” certain instruments were removed while others were added, creating a feeling of hearing these songs for the very first time, yet several other songs were left untouched.

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More dancing babies!

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

We’ve got more dancing babies today! This time, they’re rocking out to Sugar Hill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight.  In addition to dancing, these multi-tasking babies are skating! haha. Oh those crazy babies. So, here it is, the big reveal of the new Evian campaign:

After the success of all those other commercials including babies, this one cracks me up because of its silliness. Aside from the fact that I love, love, love Rapper’s Delight, I’m digging the roller skating babies at Central Park!

Fun in the sun with TruKid Sunny Days

by Jen Rabulan-Bertram

I’ve joked before how, as kids, my brothers and I used to race to see who could get the most tan. In retrospect, it wasn’t the safest “game,” even with our darker complexions. It was the 80s, afterall—y’know, the decade of excess… But now, as a mama (with a very fair-skinned mestizo babe) naturally, like many other mamas, my perspective on sun safety has since changed.

According to Kidshealth.org, most kids rack up between 50% and 80% of their lifetime sun exposure before age 18.

That’s a lot of fun in the sun, which is also why my mom friends and I often compare notes on the best natural sunscreens for our kids. Kiss My Face, California Baby and Jason products are often mentioned, but since being introduced to TruKid products, I can’t say enough great things.

A small family-run business, TruKid was born as a result of a mother who sought to fill a void. After searching for safe, but effective skin products for her five active kids (now six), Jennifer Adams Bunkers created TruKids. TruKid uses natural ingredients and essential oils, and it’s no surprise that he Environmental Working Group has given TruKid’s entire line, tru-007-2(including the products I’m about to review) the safety rating of 0-3.

Just as I started this blog, TruKid was one of the first companies to reach out to me after a mention on my Toxic Tub post. Yeah, they’re that awesome. I’ve spoken highly of the Happy Face and Body Lotion in the past, (seriously, can’t get enough of that fun apple scent and I love the smell of my clean boy) but with another long and SUNNY holiday weekend upon us, I wanted to share a review about TruKid’s Sunny Days, which comes in a fabulous sunscreen lotion and super-convenient face and body stick.

The Sunny Days sunscreen lotion comes out thick and creamy, yet not greasy or oily. Because of its creamier consistency, with just 2 dollops, the boy is good to go. I’ve used much watery sunscreens in the past, and I feel like all I do is squirt, squirt and apply.

The facestick is definitely a favorite for us. We have it tucked away in our diaper bag, stroller pocket and even our beach/playground bag. About twice the size of a tube of chapstick, the facestick, is easy to apply with just a few swipes. It, too, isn’t too thick, but light enough to apply and smooth on with one or two swipes. Because the kid thinks the facestick is actual chapstick, I tend to wipe some on my fingers to avoid unnecessary sunscreen-licking.

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