Around the House Archives | Page 3 of 24

High tech baby gifts: 4 of the best splurges for your very favorite parents-to-be

by Liz Gumbinner | Around the House, Baby Tech, Geeky Baby Gifts

If you’re shopping for a baby gift and want to go in on The Big Gift with a group — or maybe all on your own, generous soul, maybe consider high-tech baby gifts. Talking to you, best friends from college, generous boss, first-time aunt-to-be, and amazing...

Bitmap Textiles for geeks or anyone with great taste.

by Kristen Chase | Around the House

Every year, we look forward to the NY Now show, where we discover some of the coolest new gifts and home decor on the market (or soon to be), like this gorgeous Bitmap Textiles line from Susan Kare. We’re thinking these would make a fabulous addition to any...

Ooh…Cromatica Bluetooth speakers are music for the eyes, too

by Liz Gumbinner | Around the House, Audio

One look at the Italian Cromatica Bluetooth speakers and…whoa. Think of this lamp-speaker hybrid like a mood ring for your home. You choose the color illumination that suits you, choose your music, then lie back and chill. Or, clean your bathroom. Or, get some...

Here’s how to use Alexa to make your grocery shopping list.

by Kristen Chase | Smart Appliances

We’ve shared all sorts of ways the Amazon Echo can help make your life as a busy parent a whole lot easier, but one we didn’t include was how you can use it to make your grocery list. Turns out, with a simple app download, you can use Alexa to create a...

3 outstanding new high-tech baby monitors worth checking out | Best of CES 2018

by Liz Gumbinner | Baby Tech, Cameras, Home Security

Since CES 2018, we’ve been featuring our favorite tech picks for parents and I’d be remiss if I didn’t share the incredible new high-tech baby monitors that I got a chance to check out. While there are certainly a lot more that we’ll be trying...

Behold! A self-cleaning water bottle. We’ll take 10.

by Kristen Chase | Kitchen Tech

One of the big stand-outs for us at CES 2018 had to be the Quartz self-cleaning water bottle. Yes, you read that correctly. No scrubbing required. Related: How this smart water bottle helped me drink more water Using a UVC light, the BPA and pthalate-free Quartz...

15 ways Alexa can make your life easier and cooler this holiday season

by Kate Etue | Smart Appliances, Tips and Tricks

At my house, we use our Amazon Echo every single day. I ask Alexa to place orders, find the proper cooking temperature of pork, or play my favorite playlist, just to name a few. So with the holidays here, I thought it would be fun to share 15 ways Alexa can make your...

Hot coffee? Yes please! The Ember smart coffee mug is every parent’s dream.

by Kate Etue | Kitchen Tech

This year, I’ve become a full-on coffee addict. Welcome to life with four kids. Or, any kids…right? But between cooking breakfasts and getting lunch boxes into backpacks and driving the kids to school (no bus for us, bummer), it’s rare to actually...

We found 10 of the best Amazon tech deals right now. Hurry!

by Liz Gumbinner | Around the House

Like so many of you, I’m like, whoops — 9 days til Christmas and my list is not done at all! So I just clicked over to Amazon and whoa. Deals galore. Here are 10 I think are awesome that you might want to check out too. Just know some of the “last...

Ditch your keys with these 3 cool smart locks for families (or anyone with a door)

by Kate Etue | Home Security

Home security has gotten really high tech lately, and we’re not talking about cameras. Smart locks are helping families stay safer. Whether you want to be able to check on the kids getting home from school alone, or let a neighbor in to water the plants while...

4 gadgets for laptop users to help with neck and shoulder pain.

by Kristen Chase | Home Office

Last year, I was having some issues with neck and shoulder pain, along with a side of vertigo (ugh!). After a discussion with a chiropractor and a yoga therapist, I decided to make some changes to my work set-up, which was probably causing a bit, if not all, of the...

Can you sleep with all the colors of this humidifier?

by Kristen Chase | Around the House

The season for humidifiers is upon us. Well, really, it started about two weeks ago for us with our first back-to-school cold. Ugh. So, to make sure I’m prepared for the next lovely virus my kids are sure to bring home, I found myself shopping online for...

NEW: The podcast that helps you be a savvier digital parent in under 15 minutes a week

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Tech in 2010 to help make our increasingly digital lives easier, more organized, more meaningful, and more fun, however old your kids may be.

We love that it's grown to become the go-to source for millions of parents who want commonsense info about tech delivered with a smile.

We even have the privilege of sharing our tips + tricks with The TODAY Show, CNN, HLN, GMA, Nightline, newspapers and magazines around the country, and our favorite -- regular parents who stop us at PTA meetings and ask us how old kids need to be to get a smartphone, and whether they really need to panic about Snapchat.

(Answer: It's complicated.)

We're so glad you're here! And we hope we can help you too.