It’s a stylus and a paint brush and the reviews are incredible for it.   Nomad’s Compose RED dual-tip says “Happy Valentine’s Day” on it and can be purchased on NomadBrush.com for $39.

They also have iPad paintbrushes for kids!  Check out Nomad Play for $18.

And it keeps getting better. Current Wii consoles are shipping with the brand new Wii Plus remote with built-in MotionPlus technology (it used to be a separate, add-on accessory). This new hyper-sensitive remote controls your Wii games with the natural, fluid movement of your hand, without having to think about pressing a button. You get better control with less work. A win-win.

There are also a bunch of recently-released Wii games that will make a perfect pair with a Wii console.

Barbie: Jet, Set & Style: Budding style mavens will jump at the chance to perfect their hair, makeup, nail and fashion skills. Travel around the world with Barbie picking up style tips from Paris and London to Tokoyo and Moscow. Hone your glamor skills to win the ultimate prize – styling Barbie herself for an international fashion show! Rated E (THQ)

Mystery Case Files: The Malgrave Incident: New to Wii for the first time is the exciting hidden object puzzle play of the Mystery Case File series. Scour the island, locate hidden objects and use clues to solve inventive puzzles throughout the game. My kids love the I Spy-style of this game, and while it was too hard for them to play alone, it was a great family game using our collective detective skills and eyesight. Rated E (Nintendo)

Family Game Night 4: Your kids may think that board games are soooo old school, but now you can introduce your kids to your favorites – with a twist! With Family Game Night 4, you’ll be off the couch and laughing as you choose between CONNECT 4 Basketball, YATZHEE! Bowling, SCRABBLE Flash, BOP-IT Boptagon, and SORRY! Sliders. My kids were hooked on YATZHEE! Bowling having just learned how to do both parts separately in the last few months. This was a great game to enjoy as a the whole family! Rated E (EA)

Monster High Ghoul Spirit: If your daughter loves the Monster High dolls, they’ll be of fan of Ghoul Spirit where they can work to become the coolest ghoul in school by making friends, building a reputation, doing all sorts of “creeptastic” activities and more. Select your hair, skin, and outfit to create your own creepy character and do you best to win the ultimate prize – winning the title of Scream Queen. Rated E (THQ)

Wii Play Motion: If you already have a Wii, this is a great introduction to the Wii Plus remote which comes bundled with the game that highlights all of the new remote’s hyper-sensitive capabilities. With 12 mini games to choose from like Jump Park, Skip Skimmer and Treasure Twirl, the games are easy enough for younger kids to play while still offering enough challenge for adults. Rated E 10+ (Nintendo)

Rayman Origins: From the creator of Rayman, Beyond Good & Evil and the Raving Rabbids, comes Rayman Origins. Choose from over 100 characters while you adventure through 12 beautifully drawn worlds and over 60 levels attempting to save their home, the Glade of Dreams, from trouble. Pick up important skills like swimming, diving, slapping and of course the “HairlyCopter” in an attempt save the Glade and defeat the enemy. A fun game for older kids and adults alike. Rated E 10+ (Ubisoft)

Skylanders – Spyro’s Adventure Starter Pack: This unique game comes with three creature action-figures called Skylanders and a “Portal of Power” that syncs with the console and “teleports” the creature into the game. Each Skylander has a different ability or power and remembers its place in the game – even if you use it on a different console. Use your Skylander’s special power to battle Kaos, an evil tyrant, and protect your homeland.  A multiple player function allows you to join forces with a friend or battle head-to-head. Plus you can expand the game by purchasing separate Adventure Packs. And the Skylanders are perfect entertainment on their own. Rated E10+. (Activision)

Add on the new uDraw Tablet from THQ and you can try out these new games.

Pictionary – Ultimate Edition: You know the game, but not like this! Pictionary Ultimate takes drawing to a whole new level. Play regular Pictionary with over 3,000 drawing clues (junior and adult levels) or try out Pictionary Mania with crazy drawing modes like tool confusion, eraser only and rotation frustration where the screen rotates while you’re trying to draw! Plus when you’re done playing, the free draw mode is perfect to hone your skills. Rated E (THQ)

Spongebob Squigglepants: Join Spongebob, his friends and the president of the Spongebob fan club, Patchy the Pirate, in this dizzying adventure of more than 100 fast-paced mini-games and challenges. The games are easy enough for younger kids, but the time limits add an element of challenge for older kids too. You can also draw, paint and color tons of never-before-seen images of Spongebob from the Nickelodeon vaults. A must-have for Spongebob aficionados. Rated E. (THQ)

Disney Princess – Enchanting Storybooks: Budding artists can bring color and life to scenes from their favorite Disney princess movies staring Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Cinderella, Rapunzel and Tiana. With over 100 coloring pages, activities, sticker pages and stories, your little princess will have fun recreating her favorite scenes from her favorites stories. Sadly this one was lost on my boys, but I admit I had fun reliving some of my own Disney memories. Rated E. (THQ)

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Note: MWS was not paid for this review. Samples were provided for the review.

If we as women want to be stylish, then it is important that the men in our life look good by our sides. As much as we all love our sweat pants, it’s always nice to put on our Sunday’s best and hit the town. What better way for our men to look good then in a tie? And what is better than a tie that also acts as a bottle opener? The man in your life with LOVE the stylish and functional look of a Hugh Simms tie.

Hugh Simms is a distant grandson of George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, the founder of Maryland and he has taken his rebellious English heritage into fashion. Hugh is armed with degrees from Cornell University and F.I.D.M. (Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising). He was taught the art of fashion design at the early age of twelve from his grandmother who created restaurant uniforms for their family business, Phillips Seafood Restaurants. From there, he took a long and winding road that led him to start his own company. Having done high-end neckwear all handmade in Los Angeles, Hugh Simms set out to make a tie of that same quality while adding the ever elusive metal beer opener. In the words of Hugh himself “The Openers on the bottom of sandals is pretty nasty. My necktie is the clean, hygienic alternative.”

Other than the look of these ties, my favorite part of the Hugh Simms brand is that all his ties are all handmade in LA. There are five collections, each with their own story behind them. The happy hour collection are the ones with the bottle opener (my personal favorite!).

• Revolution
• Formal/Special Events
• Happy Hour
• Caulfield
• Fitzgerald

Each tie arrives in a handcrafted tin that can be used even after the tie is taken out. The tins tins bear a close resemblance to the early 1920′s tobacco tins. Every single thing about this brand is well thought out and has a purpose. Hugh seems to have put his mark on everything. You don’t get that on many products these days.

Any Hugh Simms tie would make the perfect gift for any man in your life. Why not get your holiday shopping started early? To jumpstart the holiday spirit, Hugh Simms is going to give Mommies With Style readers a discount code for 20% OFF with the code “mommy”  and  will give that discount for the remainder of 2011. This can be used on any of the HUGH SIMMS products.  A great way for women to get shopping early for holidy gifts for their husband, brother, son, father-in-law, or any other man in their life!

Something about these shoes shout preppy and “duuuuuuuuuude” to me at the same time.  And hubby and Nate are enthralled; they haven’t taken them off since we bought them several days ago, proclaiming these are the most comfortable pair of shoes they own.  (Nate has been opting to wear these over flip flops, if that tells you anything.)

Hubby’s wearing a pair of Hey Jute ($60) and Nate (age 7) is wearing the Standard Kids ($42).  Check ‘em out.  They make stylin’ looking flip flops too.  You can buy on the Sanuk.com website, on Zappos.com or Amazon.com.

More Fashion Friday from Around the Web:
fashion friday –

Available for both the 3G/3Gs and the 4G, this nifty little iPhone cover not only covers and protects your iPhone but it can open your beer bottle.  If that’s not total awesomesauce, I don’t know what is.  No risk of dog poo residue on the top of your beer bottle with this fun case!

Get it for $19.95 plus $3.95 shipping at ibottleopener.com.

Whatever kind of man your husband/dad is, there’s a good chance that he’s a fan of one of these activities. And what do all these activities have in common?

They all need a good cooler.

Normally, I wouldn’t think of showing my appreciation for my husband with a cooler. But YETI does not make your average cooler. These are super coolers. Coolers for men who like their beer ice-cold – 4 days into their camping trip. For men who are reeling in fish SO big, they need a large and secure place to hold their catch. Men who pack so much meat for an weekend camping trip, they need an entire cooler – a bear-proof cooler at that – dedicated to their red meat stash.  They need a YETI.

What sets a YETI cooler apart?

- roto-molded for a much higher resistance to impact and increased long-term durability

- twice the insulation of traditional coolers (3″ in the lid, 2″ in the walls)

- full frame sealing gasket

- heavy-duty, rubber T-latches that can withstand ….

- molded self-stopping lid hinge with a full-length aluminum rod that can’t hyper-extend

- certified by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee (IGBC) for bear-resistance. (Yep, they let wild grizzles go to town on these coolers. YETI – 1, bears – 0)

Refrigeration doesn’t really do it for me, but my husband’s eyes lit up when he saw this box arrive. “A YETI??” Giddy as a schoolboy, I tell you. We’ve taken it out for a few trial runs and I can tell you it is lightyears away from your average cooler. No wondering if the milk is going to make it through the camp trip. No more worrying about warm beer. It’s durable, rugged and most importantly, it effectively does the one job you’re buying it for.

The cooler pictured is from their Tundra series – the mid-sized Tundra 50 to be exact – but YETI offers over a dozen different sizes. They also offer the Tundra series in a variety of sports team colors and in a cool camo print.

This is the cooler that you’ll buy once and use for the rest of your life. This is a cooler that will make your man feel like a man – and might just stay cold enough for you to stash some ice cream on that next family camp trip.

Visit www.yeticoolers.com to see their entire collection and find a local retailer.

He gets: a fun new gadget to program, play with (hello touchscreen!) and impress his friends with and one less thing to lose

You get: a coffee table free of Mt. Remotes and a one-step process for explaining to the sitter how to turn the TV on

I swore we’d never be one of those people with remotes littering the couch, but over the years we moved up from 1 to 2 to now 6 different remotes to control different media devices. And if the clutter weren’t bad enough, good luck trying to find all three at the same time that you need to turn on a DVD. Logitech to the rescue! With their Harmony collection of universal remotes, you can find the perfect one to match your price range and media requirements and finally bring harmony to your living room.

Here’s an overview of the features of the Logitech Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote:

- Control up to 15 devices. Imagine a pile of 15 remotes, even 8 remotes! Some of you may even have a special basket or drawer JUST FOR REMOTES.  No more! The Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote does it all.

- One-Touch Activity Control. Love this feature. It means I don’t need to write down a 12-step process for my babysitter or in-laws on how to work the DVD player or turn on the music. The remote has activity choices like “Watch TV” or “Play a DVD” that automatically turn on all required devices to the correct setting with the press of ONE BUTTON. Love it.

- Rechargeable. So many things eat batteries in our house, I’m glad that the Harmony One remote won’t be one of them. The rechargeable base saves you cash and with a designated place to put the remote for charging, it makes it a little more likely you’ll be able to find it when you need it.

- Easy set-up. Logitech makes set-up simple. Load the installation CD and attach the remote to your computer with the included USB cable. The software guides you through adding your specific devices and choosing how you want to control them (e.g. control the sound through your stereo system, not through your TV). Logitech remotes have support for 5000+ brands and 255,000+ devices, but just to make sure, it’s good to double check the compatibility of your devices here.

The Harmony One Advanced Universal Remote retails for $249.99 but you can take a step down the price ladder and pick up the Harmony 650 for a sale price of $79.99 (controls up to 5 devices, no touch screen) or move a step up and try the Harmony 900 which use radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) technology. The benefit of adding in RF? It will work through cabinets which means you can control all your media equipment while keeping them hidden from view.

Pick one up for Father’s Day today!

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Disclaimer: Logitech provided a sample for this review.

What Is It?

The Boxee Box is a media device that allows you to access internet content, online sources for TV and movies, your personal photos, music, movies and more all on you HDTV.

What’s Included?

The Boxee comes with a, well, box-type shape device and a dual-sided remote. Very cool. One side is called the “Simple Side” which has a play/pause button, menu/go back button and a select/directional pad to navigate through menus. The other side of the remote has a mini-QWETY keyboard which makes it super easy to type in the address of your favorite website or search your music collection for a specific artist.

What Can You Do?

Movies – You can access a collection of free movies from sources like myLifetime, SnagFilms, EZtakes and Databazaar, upload your own movies from a hard drive or network, or access a gazillion movies on Netflix (if you are a member) or VUDU ($3.99 to rent). I may never set foot in another video store again.

Watch TV shows – The Boxee aggregates thousands of your favorite TV shows from the web into one convenient location. For him, there’s Family Guy, Nova, The Office and The Daily Show. For you, there’s CSI, Chuck and Glee and the kids will be thrilled to see episodes of iCarly, Dinosaur Train, Scooby-Doo and SuperWhy. The quality of the playback will definitely depend on your Internet connection, but overall, I have been very pleased.

Apps – Boxee currently has apps (with more being added all the time!) that tailor stuff from the web for your TV. There are lots of apps that will look familiar (Netflix, Pandora, vimeo, CNN, TED, Facebook, MLB, HBO Go) and lots of new ones to introduce you to a whole host of new content. My one complaint is that I wish the apps offered a bit more description about what they are and the type of content they offered. There were a bunch that I’d never heard of and the little description that pops up when you click on it was only marginally useful in giving me a clear idea of what it was about.

Connect With Friends – As if you weren’t already connected enough, Boxee lets you connect with friends on Facebook, Twitter and Google Buzz to find out what your friends are watching and recommending.

Play Your Own Stuff – Whether it’s your personal music collection, home movies, funny video clips from your last vacation or photos of the kids, you can drop your media to the included SD card and upload it to Boxee. Never have your friends and family crowd around your computer screen again to see that slideshow from your last trip.

The bad news….

You can’t watch just ANYTHING off the web. Websites are getting smart and making you pay to watch certain content on certain devices. Take Hulu for example. You have access to thousands of clips and movies for free on your computer, but try to access Hulu.com on Boxee and you’ll need to join Hulu Plus (for $7.99 a month) to view anything at all.

The Competition

Are their other devices that do similar things? Yes, but Boxee’s got them beat in a number of areas. Check out their comparison chart here.

How I’ve Been Using Boxee

- watching free YouTube workout videos full size on my TV instead of trying to maneuver the laptop to the floor (I’m loving the POP Pilates series)

- my own large-scale digital frame to easily show pictures from our last adventure

- catching up on old shows (Sex in the City and SNL) and discovering new ones (Modern Family, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia)

- pulling up an Instant Watch clip on Netflix of Diego or Backyardigans for the kids to watch when I need 20 minutes of silence

Buy Now! Whether you’re looking for a gift for dad or just another way to connect all your media together, visit D-Link to learn more about Boxee and find a retailer near you. Or hop on over to Amazon and get one in the mail to you today for $199.

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Disclaimer: D-Link sent a sample of the Boxee for this review. The feedback is my own.

It’s dishwasher safe too – gotta love that.  Get the Fold N Go Charcoal Grill from Coleman for $48.28 with Free Shipping on Amazon.

The Murano Cross Cabriolet is so different – It’s the first all-wheel drive crossover convertible, part SUV and part convertible.

Since I drive a Toyota Camry, I loved being up higher (it’s exactly like an SUV in that way). It’s got loads of room for 4 passengers — which made me think of the interior of the convertibles my father owned when he was single (back in the late 1950′s up to the mid 60′s).   It’s got a large trunk space, but keep in mind, you aren’t going to get as much in it as the Murano (but more than a regular convertible).  If you are going on a trip, you’ll be able to get tons of luggage in. It’s got a real back seat, which a regular convertible made these days barely has. If you have young kids like I do, you’re probably not going to buy this car (a double Maclaren umbrella stroller will fit, but not a wider stroller like a Mountain Buggy Double) — but when they are older (like tween and teen years), it’s something I would love to get!
While I’m not an expert on cars and have no clue about torque or horsepower (you can find all that info here at Nissan’s official site), I know that I loved driving it — and you will too!

Thank you to Nissan for providing this test drive opportunity in sunny Palm Beach Florida. The opinions expressed are solely my own and I can highly recommend this vehicle.