Favorite Products

For the Baby

foogo™ by Thermos

The foogo™ Leak-Proof Sippy Cup and Food Jar really do make traveling a whole lot easier. Headed to the park for the day or to run errands all over town? These BPA-free, spill-proof containers are unbreakable for the roughest of kids and they keep food and drink cold like a true champ! My son takes a medication that must be refrigerated, which is a real pain in the neck when traveling ... this past week I put some ice cubes in the bottom of the food container with the meds on top and when I opened the jar the next morning to use them, not only were they still cold, the ice cubes had not melted. Very impressive.

Now for the stats from their website: The food jar ($19) will keep contents hot for up to 5 hours; cold items remain cold for up to 7 (although I experienced around 8 hours of pure chilliness!)

The sippy cup ($15) is for cold liquids only and will keep contents cold for up to 6 hours. Both are dishwasher safe (a very good thing for this working mom!).

The portable high chair: Chicco's Hook on High Chairs

Over the holidays, I would throw my son's fold down high chair into my trunk and off we would go. Well, our weekend mini-vaca needed lots of bags, baby-gear and groceries so there was no room for the high chair. In stepped my new favorite item: the Caddy Hook on Chair from Chicco ($34.99).

I'm telling you, mommies, this is the one item that I will NOT leave home without from now on. I was able to easily secure the seat to the counter of our vacation home and didn't have to adjust it once over the long weekend. The babe sat comfortably, able to eat off of the counter, and the three-point safety harness and quick-grip table clamping left me secure that the wee one would stay where I put him (always a challenge!).

The seat is washable - a good thing since apparently it also tasted good - and now, the newest version, the "Hippo TravelSeat, Adventure" also folds down and can be stored in a carry bag for even more convenience. The only drawback that I noticed was that the chair sat a little farther away from the counter than I would have liked, so quite a few tasty morsels found their way to the dog. The baby also dropped the bottle down the opening in front of him a few times as well, as he's used to having the high chair tray right in front of him. Small price to pay for such an easy to use and necessary item.

Food on the Road: Sassy Baby's On the Go Feeding Set

I personally, am so sick of my car smelling like whatever it is that is leaking in my diaper bag. Case in point, my poor family had to suffer all the way home from the mountains this past weekend with the car smelling like a traveling cheese factory from all of the dried up spilled milk in my bag. DISGUSTING.

By the time that we arrived home from the trip, not only was there dried milk all over the car seat and my bag, but there was also applesauce that had leaked out of the Tupperware container and was covering the cup holder and center console from my wee-one's mid-afternoon snack.

Well, here is the solution. Sassy's On the Go Feeding Set. After reading rave reviews on various websites (yes, ladies, I do my homework), I went to Babies R Us and picked up two of these brightly colored (you know I love my colors!), stackable, portable containers. Not only are the great for travel, they are also super for daycare and day trips.

The set includes one large sectioned dish/bowl with a lid and three removable individual dishes, also with lids. They really are great for holding a meal and two snacks. The set also comes with a spoon that stores right inside - all for the nifty price of $5.99 (it's $1 more at Amazon so Babies R Us is the place to go). I got two. That way, I can pack more food if it's a longer trip and even if just using this for daycare, I always have a back up for those days that I don't run the dishwasher (rare, but it happens).

For the Mom

Microplane Foot File - Orb-Style ($19.95)

Yes, it sounds crazy. I'll give you that. But hear me out. Microplane, the manufacturer of woodworking products and cheese graters has come up with the best pedicure product out there - the Foot File. Think cheese-grater for your feet.

This is the perfect, low cost solution for the rough and cracked heels that are inevitable from all of the running around that you do when you're on vacation or a business trip. Trust me - your feet are funky after wearing those cute but not functional sandals on your day of sightseeing. Do not even think about throwing on those cute kitten heels for dinner without prettying up those soles!

I personally like the orb. It sits well in my hand so I don't have to worry about slipping and buffing off the skin on my ankles (certainly not the desired effect, ladies), and instead of that nastiness floating around in the air while you're buffing, the orb catches it, allowing for easy removal by taking off the back of the unit. Functional, effective and much cheaper than frequent pedis.

Bliss Softening Socks

Now before you start thinking that I have some kind of foot issue - I must tell you that it's actually a shoe obsession. Particularly sandals and aforementioned kitten heels. Mmmm.

I also love to go barefoot which is why I need all of these darn foot products! Especially on the road, when I'm walking around more than often and more times than not, in shoes that look great but end up feeling uncomfortable by the end of the day. I know, not smart. 

These socks freak my husband out a little bit I think, but I love them. They're filled with this moisture-gel that is magical. You wear these bad boys for 20 min. at a time - when you take them off, you'd swear that there was a little man living in the socks that spent that time buffing, moisturizing and massaging your feet. They are THAT GOOD!

Yes, they feel a little squishy inside, which takes some getting used to, but the refreshing feeling when you wriggle your way out of them is so very worth it.

Bonus - if your toes are feeling especially tired, wear these socks overnight and when you wake up, no more soreness, no more cracks. Just perfectly beautiful feet. Unless, of course, you had goofy looking feet to begin with. They don't help with that.

MP3 Player

You probably already have an MP3 player and may even be on your second or third by now but for those of you who do not know what I'm talking about - for me, the iPod is an I-Must for flying. It's not that I'm not a social person and don't enjoy talking to the person next to me - for a moment or two. However, I do not want to talk to you for the whole flight and I certainly do not want to hear about your health problems so the MP3 is a great excuse to simply tune out. Personally, I dig the iPod shuffle since it's so great for the gym. I'm still on version 1 though, so I can't tell you much about the newer, smaller version that starts at $49 - aside from the fact that I love the price-point.

My Mom has had her MP3 player for almost two years now and has yet to download a single song onto it. For those of you like her, a little intimidated by how the music actually gets onto the gum pack-sized product - trust me. The software automatically loads onto your computer when you plug it into the USB port (look on the side of your hard-drive and plug it into the spot where it fits - think of a puzzle piece) and then you can look for songs that you like online at various music stores. You can also put your favorite CDs into your disk drive on your computer and load them into the MP3 player. Much easier than it sounds; I promise.

My groom travels a lot for work and those long flights can be super boring. He has the iPod that allows him to watch movies while in the air. Very cool. Expensive, but cool. This will run you about $249.

"Music, movies .. what else can this MP3 do, Alyson?" you ask. Since I'm here to help, I'll let you know that you can also download audio books on your MP3. I know. Technology is amazing.

Another bonus - if your car has MP3 capabilities, you can have your favorite tunes on your next road trip without lugging all of your CDs with you. Great example - there are many cute little kid songs that I like but have no interest in buying the whole CD. So, I visit iTunes, make my mix for the babe and off we go!

Navigation System

Speaking of traveling by car - a new fun gadget that my sweet hubby recently picked up for me is my new best friend, TomTom. I had my doubts - I'm sure we've all heard various nightmare stories of personal navigation systems ... like the one where the guy follows the directions and ends up at the edge of a cliff ... okay, so I didn't actually believe that one but since I'm not able to wrap my head around how it actually works ... Anyway, love TomTom.

My husband and I were going into New York for dinner with friends and I'll tell you - getting around the Village is not an easy feat. It's not a grid and with the speed that traffic moves in the city, there is no time to stop and read directions. So although it was my first time using Tom, I was following his directions blindly. Well, not only did we get there without a single wrong turn, we were lucky enough to get a parking spot right in front of the restaurant! Okay, I'm lying about the parking spot but we did get to pay $60 for three hours of parking right around the corner. TomTom is a navigation system, not a miracle worker.

Hair Products: Bumble & Bumble

"There once was a girl who had a little curl.
Right in the middle of her forehead.
When she was good, she was very, very good.
But when she was bad she was horrid."
- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Okay my curly-headed compadres - I know that you remember that rhyme from when you were little!

Okay, so maybe I'm not horrid but my hair certainly can be. Some of nature's cruel tricks for us curly-haired gals: summer heat, tropical humidity and rain. Don't know about you, but my favorite places to vacation are also places that typically are a nightmare for my tresses. No woman wants to have a bad hair week on her romantic get-away! So, I pack Bumble and Bumble's Curl Conscious Creame. I don't use it the way that they suggest - going piece by piece to sculpt your perfect curls, but throw some in and hope for the best. It does cut down drastically on frizz and I like the way that it smells. I've got a lot of hair, so I use a lot of cream. Speaking of great hair, if you like what the ocean's spray does for your locks, check out Surf Spray from B&B as well. Don't pack the Surf Spray in your carry-on however; it's just over the 3 oz. limit. You can get the Curl Conscious Creame in a 2 oz bottle. Score another for us curly haired gals!

Entertainment

I'm a big reader. Big. I have come to appreciate my weekly Barnes & Noble trips as the escape that they have become and I am a big fan. I love everything about books: the excitement of having a book whose release you've been awaiting, perusing the new releases while sipping on a yummy frap from the Starbucks counter, checking in on the latest gossip in the magazine section.

My son loves his books too but at this point in time, for a much different reason. He likes to mimic me and hold a book in his lap. He enjoys nibbling on the pages of a good board book, ripping with gusto the pages of a magazine (after Momma's done reading it, of course) and is always thoroughly surprised by the books that have sound when you turn the last page.

No matter the reason, the book store is always a great stop on any vacation. Who doesn't love to grab the latest novel just before boarding a plane? And, how many times have you suffered through the nausea to finish up a good read on a road trip? The beach simply isn't the same without a great storyline to become engrossed in. Check out my "Book Shelf" for my latest reads and email me your must-read list too!

"Wyndham Worldwide is not affiliated with the manufacturers of any products mentioned in this column, does not endorse any of the products mentioned in this column, and is not responsible for their performance or suitability for any purpose."