Are the kids ready for school to be out?! Mine are counting down the days and cannot wait for the beach, camp and good old fashioned Summer Fun. I can’t wait to curl up on my beach chair and read a few great books one of which I will share with you below. Make sure not to forget your sunscreen every day (lots and lots).
Personalized shopping experience
A new find that I love is The Collective Child. A personalized, shopping service delivering a hand-selected curation of luxury childrenswear. Their team of stylists travel the world to discover unique pieces from the most coveted designer brands and emerging vanguard labels in order to build custom collections and introduce new childrenswear lines to members on a monthly basis, or as they request it. Every delivery features a multi-branded selection of designer brands and emerging labels (with new brands introduced every season). With a focus on brand discovery and international labels, members receive unique looks they won’t find elsewhere. Parents fill out a style questionnaire. Each box is hand-curated by a stylist based on member preferences. Unlike other subscription boxes that come on a monthly schedule, members have the option to receive boxes monthly and or as you request them. The Collective Child was founded by fashion vet Sandra Makarem who has more than a decade of experience in the fashion space, from a short stint at French Vogue to nearly eight years as a planner and buyer at Bloomingdale’s. Sandra is hands-on with every member account, ensuring clients receive pieces they will love. Only purchase what you like and send the rest back! With every box, The Collective Child sends six or more products tailors to each members style. Members have seven days to try everything on their children, keep what they like and send the rest back. $20 per delivery, credited towards purchases thecollectivechild.com
Childcare you can trust
One of the most stressful parts of becoming a new mom is figuring out who will take care of your newborn baby once you return to work and one that you can trust. Fortunately, CozyKin, the childcare leader in Montessori-inspired nanny sharing has expanded to NYC. The company is on a mission to trailblaze a new generation of early education by supporting new parents in their return to work and providing competitive living wages and benefits to nannies. In short, CozyKin matches two compatible, local families with a rigorously vetted and trained nanny. The company handles all the logistics from finances and nanny management to backup care, giving parents a stress-free and seamless experience. Parents can plan their childcare needs well in advance and rely on CozyKin’s no waitlist guarantee, so every moment is spent with their baby during leave. Furthermore, the two families’ children in the nanny share gain the cognitive benefits of socialization with their first best friend. Some may say it’s the best of both worlds – the personalization of a nanny with the socialization benefits of a daycare. For more information go to cozykin.com
No-hassle storage
A new awesome find that every parent on the Upper East Side is going to love, STORE is New York’s only local neighborhood storage solution. Located at 1290 3rd Avenue in the heart of the Upper East Side, STORE offers no-hassle storage starting as low as $8 per month. Stop by STORE and try it out or just say hi to the super friendly staff. STORE Makes Getting Your Stuff Quick & Easy with absolutely no hassle. You can schedule a valet to pick-up or drop-off. You will be so happy to learn about these new finds. Declutter this Summer and manage your storage needs here. Time to put away the Spring shoes and make room for your beautiful Summer clothing, shoes, bicycles. The best part about STORE for NYC parents, they can store away your strollers, cribs, baby beds and more for the next child. We all know how we can never have enough storage on the UES. storenyc.com
Reading time
Looking for a book that you will not be able to put down? Look no more, A Girl Raised By Wolves: An inspiring memoir of one woman’s journey through sex trafficking, cancer, murder, and more by Lockey Maisonneuve. In the late 1970s, in a gritty N.J. town, an adolescent girl is unwittingly handed a one-way ticket by her mother to allegedly “visit” her estranged father in Florida. Young and vulnerable, Lockey Maisonneuve has no idea she is being abandoned and sent to live with a vile and dangerous pedophile who would spend the next several years violently raping, abusing and mercilessly selling his daughter’s body into childhood prostitution to other adult men. After being rescued by her naive, but well-intentioned, grandparents, her troubled life is further devastated by cancer and ravaged by the subsequent brutal murder of her mother, in which Lockey is briefly considered a suspect. A Girl Raised by Wolves is the inspirational memoir of a survivor of the darkest circumstances one can endure in a single lifetime and still emerge with a sense of humor and to defiantly proclaim “they didn’t break me!”
Lyss Stern is the founder of Divamoms.com, author of Motherhood Is A B#tch, and If You Give A Mom A Martini, and a mom of three. Follow Lyss on Instagram @diva_moms
