
I consider myself a pretty laid back mom when it comes to raising my kids, but when safety is of concern I become a different person. Maybe it's from watching too many movies or newscasts, but I have a paralyzing fear that something could happen to my children if I chance leaving them with a stranger. Did or do you have this fear?

Mmmm, hands down my favorite sign of the season is
the abundance of Fall squash 'cause I can't eat pretty falling leaves! Added to my weakness for pumpkin-y recipes (
even for my pooch) is North's love of lounging around and exploring the great outdoors – I bet he'd love to attend a
pumpkin patch picnic!
Sadly I haven't been to one of these farms since I was a kid but, thinking about all the new scents and wide-open spaces, I can also see some dangers especially if there are farm animals or wagons for canines to chase.

Got a formal event to go to? Sure, you could get your boyfriend (or yourself, pardon me) a classy pair of cufflinks, but chances are they'll be boring as all get-out and won't be any sort of conversation starter.
These
Robot Cufflinks ($40), on the other hand, are conversation pieces and super-adorbs to boot.

It sounds like everyone is universally excited about the new
pricing and specs for the new MacBooks, but one area where I'm hearing different things is in the design. The new MacBooks look like the new Pros, with black glass corner-to-corner around the screen, and black keyboards like the Air has always had. This is obviously different than the old version (still currently available as the $999
entry-level MacBook) that's all white plastic.

This past week, the
Michelin Guide announced its 2009 starred restaurants for
New York and
San Francisco. The Michelin Guide, Europe's best-known restaurant guide, is released annually in the form of a series of books organized by city. The red books award restaurants zero, one, two, or three stars, and the stars are arguably the most well-regarded rankings in the global restaurant industry, with three being an extraordinary honor.

There's a whole lot of gray area when it comes to raising kids. It seems most parents fall into that middle ground when it comes to exposing their children to the realities of the world. But if you had to choose one extreme, sheltering your children from everything, or the other, having them thrust into the realities of the world, which would it be?

Tasty Orange Juliuses and tedious needlepoint are what come to mind whenever somebody brings up the topic of middle school home economics class, and none of the lessons I recall had anything to do with keeping a household budget.
According to
The New York Times, home economics was started with the idea of teaching students about pinching pennies but transformed as people worried less about money.
Once upon a time, schools taught survival skills like how to feed a growing family cheaply and run a household on a tight budget.

This object may appeal to a tot's visual senses but it provides another purpose, too.

It's all about wearing this
R2-D2 Backpack ($65) with a completely straight face as you make your way to your destination. I would personally pair it with a grown-up trench coat just to make passersbys' heads explode just a little more. Oh to be queen of irony!

The name says it all, but that's kinda what scares me! With an embedded rope toy for fetch and tug,
Shooey Chewie ($16) looks suspiciously like the sole of my galoshes. Although North hates shoes, some people (
like LC) have pups that enjoy eating footwear.