lifestyle apps

They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but for most of us it's also one of the least thought out. (Cereal, anyone?) We recently featured a ton of easy weekday breakfast ideas to help you out, plus there's an app f…

Ever have that situation where you don't want to type a text and it would be easier to just leave a voicemail, but you don't exactly want to have to make a phone call either? (I know, we're so spoiled in this digital age). Well, here's t…

We love Houzz around here. We've been using it to design our living rooms, bedrooms, and dining spaces for a while now. So we're super excited that they've launched an app that's just made just for parents. The free Houzz Kids Rooms app …

To me, fall means organization. Not just around the house, but in a "let's get it together" kind of way for everything in my life. One of the things I'm committed to is taking a better look at budgeting, how I'm spending money, and where…

Years ago, I used to be able to keep my entire schedule in my head--no calendar necessary. Three kids later, a calendar is a must-have for keeping track of family activities and appointments. But what about stuff that you want to remembe…

Turns out the brand new 2014 IKEA catalog isn't just any old catalog. Not that it ever was of course, But now, it's got an interactive tech component with a companion augmented reality app that's pretty darn awesome. And yes, Android own…

For the most part, I've got a good handle on my family's finances, but when it comes to the smaller details of where our money goes, I could use some help from this new iOS app. I'm finding it's really great for tracking your every day e…

Last week in Chicago, we had the best time working with our partner Yappem , a new shopping rewards website and app, to throw one heckofa party for bloggers. Or really, an awesome party. In fact, it was called the Awesome Party. And you …

I adore two things about my DVR: One, I don't need an engineering degree to program it correctly, and two, I can zip through all the commercials faster than I ever did with a VHS tape. (Nod along like you know what I'm talking about.) Bu…

I cannot say enough wonderful things about the Sonos wireless music system --and do. Often. To everyone who comes to my house and says whoa, that's amazing--what is that? The one thing I couldn't say though is that Android users could re…

I'm so happy that there are so many great baby book apps available, now that my third baby is on its way. With my first kid, I was diligent about entering those adorable milestones into his baby book (yes, an actual book!) and am proud t…

If your penchant for good design ideas and locations goes beyond flipping through an IKEA catalog (or maybe even Pinterest), you will appreciate the eye candy in this excellent new Android app made in collaboration with Wallpaper* magazi…

If you're like me, you spend a lot of your day texting your spouse and kids, or calling to check in on them and coordinate schedules. Don't even get me started on the number of emails I send. But since I got a sneak peek at a brand new c…

Here is a typical weeknight in my house. After dinner is made and I have digested, the dishes are all done and I hear snoring out of the monitor... I think, YAY I can go sit down and wait for Jon Stewart. But then I remember, I have to p…

I admit I've been reluctant to jump on the gift card app bandwagon. I tend to just cram my gift cards into my wallet or stack them on my night table--but then I evidently realize oh hey...I'm at Target spending $90 and shoot, I have a $1…

Having been in the tech industry for a looong time, I'm usually skeptical when companies throw around "faster," "easier" and "better" catchwords when it comes to updates to their products. But in the case of Springpad version 4.0, I can …

Now that I've discovered this amazing new journaling app, I know plenty of parents can make up for lost time without going out of their way. In fact, it might be the very best baby book app I've found. I pretty much ditched the baby book…

If your fridge is like mine, it's covered with artwork, kids' papers from school and class lists that I'm just too busy to input into my address book, computer or phone. Well how about an app that can do it all for you? Really. Lo and be…

Maybe it's an age factor or the fact that I have a lot in my brain, but I've been relying more heavily on making lists to do, well, everything. We've covered quite a few great ones here at Cool Mom Tech like Teux Deux, Orchestra and Cozi…

I know better than anyone that it can be hard to come up with gift-giving ideas. While I am fairly diligent about amassing birthday gifts for the countless number of kids' parties we go to, I admit that I sometimes lack that ability when…

Any app that can help me get a delicious home-cooked meal on the table easier and more efficiently has my vote. Yes, I realize that there are quite a few recipe planning apps on the market but some end up being supplanted by my trusty pe…

The other day I was cleaning out my daughter's closet and I came across her baby book. About the first six months of her life were complete, but after that, it was pretty spotty. I will say that looking at digital baby book options avail…

I remember when we were pregnant and pretty much counting down the days until we could announce it to the world. We of course were not together enough to spill the beans in any clever fashion but rather did so in a deluge of texts, email…

As parents, I know so many of us keep some kind of record of our funny kid-isms (they do say the darndest things, right?), but a new service called Limetree will now let you record all of them in one place. Limetree is both a website and…