Around my town it seems as if the iPhone has become the new crayon and paper menu. If you’re little one is ready for it,  the phone can be a great tool for keeping them occupied.  I’m in no way suggesting you replace dinner conversation with video games, but if the food is taking longer than it should or a fight is about to break out, it can be a life saver. They can listen to music, play all kinds of educational apps that are really amazing, pull up funny youtube videos,  even watch movies. It’s interesting that kids don’t seem to mind the somewhat compact size of the screen for long periods of time, they just love the content too much to mind. From the time my son was 2 years old he knew how to launch the apps on my phone and was taught what sounds all of his favorite animals made as well as their names in several languages thanks to the apps ZooBox and Voice Toddler Cards. If you’ve been toying with the idea, now’s the time to pounce!

*Photo credited to: Apple.com

First up there’s my favorite find, the Cushtop which is an ergonomically correct shaped pad that sits on your lap and positions your laptop and wrists in just the right position.  The center is hollow making it a great spot to hid cords and accessories and also adds to the overall cool look of the thing.

Next up, the Laptop PocketTop.  This is rad because it’s not only a cushy and comfy sleeve for your laptop to sit in when it’s on your lap, but it’s also a carrying case! Gotta love dual functionality. Now, if you have a laptop that tends to burn the flesh right off your legs like mine, then the Laptop Cooling Lounge is what you may want to consider. It has an actual fan built into the pad that runs off of a USB connection to your computer.  It does a great job of pulling the heat off of your PC keeping your legs feeling, well, normal!

Lastly, Belkin just released something called the CushDesk that you may spot on eBay soon. It’s a wide desk like platform which is covered in a grippy material so your laptop won’t slip yet is flat enough to write on.  Its underside is padded to make for a comfortable, well, desk right there on top of your legs.  Great products if you’re like me and work from a couch. We’re pretty lucky, huh?

*Photo credited to: Belkin

Photo credited: Von R. Glitschka

I was at my computer around 4:30 p.m. (ET) yesterday when a news flash from TMZ  came across the screen. The legend, the laughing-stock, the entertainer of the century, had been rushed to the hospital after a 911 call saying he had collapsed in his Los Angeles home.

About an hour later, my husband told me he just got a call saying MJ was dead.

Jackson was a fashion force. His style was emulated by fans and non-fans alike. First, with his brothers he helped pushed the acceptance of the Afro into the mainstream and made black kids around the world proud to wear a fro.

He later sparked runs on white suits, floodwater pants, red leather jackets, military jackets, studs, white socks with loafers and - though I’d rather forget - the jheri curl.

Jackson had a profound effect on dance style and the clothes one had to wear to effect those moves. Like major pop-culture directors before and after him - James Brown, Madonna, Bob Marley - Jackson was able to make intelligent, self-possessed people emulate him from head to toe.

His impact on the lens through which we view fashion shoots and videos was profound. Suddenly, after Jackson’s spate of videos, we saw that the medium could convey as much style and emotion as a full-length movie.

A huge gap in the hours of coverage I’ve watched and the thousands of words I’ve read since his passing is the characterization of MJ as a has-been. What’s missing is the potent observation that Jackson was newly idolized by a young generation.

Any hip youths into fashion or into music is “hip” to Michael Jackson. Kids are into studying his style, studying his moves, listening to his music. I bet a lot of those London tickets weren’t just bought by babyboomers like me but a lot of 20-somethings who wanted to see MJ live; a lot of kids who know Justin Timberlake’s professional genealogy.

It is these kids as well as mature fashion insiders who lit the match of an MJ style revival a few years ago, one that is still burning today. It’s part of the Eighties redux. Fashion historians will settle the intruiging question: Did the MJ fascination spark the landslide Eighties tend that is everywhere in fashion or will Jackson be a footnote to it?

I think I already know the answer. What are your thoughts?

*Photo licensed to: Photorazzi.com

*Photo licensed to: Photorazzi.com

I was most tickled that Anna Sui won a Lifetime achievement award. She’s not a household name, but certainly an outstanding talent whose view enlivens the fashionscape season after season. Although she’s just a baby-boomer, Sui may well feel like she’s done a lifetime of designing. A thoughtful Jack White talked about her impact on pop culture before presenting the statuette.

Rodarte beat out Marc Jacobs AND Narciso Rodriguez for Women’s Wear Designer of the Year. I was surprised. If the award is about influence and capturing fashion’s spirit in that year it’s hard to see how the admittedly innovative Mulleavy sisters won. Unless a lot of Vogue assistants voted.

Menswear was a tie - the other kind of tie.Scott Sternberg for Band of Outsiders and Italo Zucchelli for Calvin Klein. (Where is Calvin? I miss seeing him at these events.)

Swarovski Awards for emerging fashion talent went to  Justin Giunta for Subversive Jewellry for his fabulously inventive creations with a punk sensibility and
Alexander Wang - well deserved - for his directional, hard-edge fashions.

Accessories Designer of the Year went to Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza  Schouler.

Marc  Jacobs, gave a shout out to his new  “fiance”  as he accepted the International Designer of the Year Award for his pace-setting work at Louis Vuitton.

And Michelle Obama (no, she wasn’t there but gave a videotaped thank you) was recognized for her contributions to  shopping, I mean to fashion.

·         Hammocks are perfect relaxation pieces.  Soak in Mother Nature while catching up on your beauty sleep.  On eBay, you can find great deals on this outdoor furniture item.

·         Tiki themed-accessories give your backyard a lift while making it festive for the hot weather.  From teak trays on the table to outdoor lanterns, these accessories can instantly transport you to a tropical location.

·         Adding more flowers indoors and to the backyard landscape can only be a good thing!  Go to your local grocery store to find the most colorful flowers that are ready to be planted. eBay is also a great one-stop-shop, where you can buy bulbs and pots!