Now that summer is here, it's time to up replenish my stock of tee shirts! How about these fun "summer" themed ones with a vintage feel?!

I just discovered this stylish and cruelty free laptop bag on Amazon!

It comes in a few different colors and did I mention it's cruelty free!? Perfect for the woman on the go and it's big enough to carry all your "purse" essentials as well!

Taking care of my elderly mom remotely

Having an elderly parent is not easy today, especially when you live in another state. My mom is 93 and lives in NJ, and I live in NYC. Don't get me wrong, my mom is in excellent health and I go visit her 2 to 3 times a week, but, what about those days when I'm not there? How can I be sure she's safe and nothing has happened, she hasn't fallen, or left the burner on, etc??? You may be facing the same problem, and you might live even farther away and cannot visit as often as I do. Here's what I've done to remain (somewhat) stress free about this.
About two years ago, my mom fell. I didn't know until I tried calling her, (and calling and calling) with no answer. She was passed out and semi-conscious from being on the floor for so long. Luckily, after a short time in the hospital and rehab, she was fine. But, I would not let this happen again! While she was in the hospital, I searched the web for answers. How to monitor the elderly? How do I know when things are happening? I knew she would not wear one of those necklaces that you push in an emergency, "I've fallen and I can't get up". That seemed like all there was to offer. I decided to look for web cams, (nanny cams!), and found Dropcam, (now Nest Cam), to be the best. I had Internet installed in her apt and the cameras up the day she came home. Now I could easily monitor her every day and not worry!
I have one in her bedroom, one in the living/dining room area, and one the kitchen, (I can see the stove burners!) I can monitor her from my Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad, anytime, anywhere.
Since she is elderly and her memory is not what it once was, I have been looking into other ways to make her life easier.....I have continued with the Nest family of products and purchased the Nest Protect, (smoke and CO alarm) after a funny but not funny incident of her smoke alarm battery going off at 10pm at night and her not being able to stop it, (thank goodness for a nice neighbor who helped out). The Nest Protect is easy to install, (I did it myself) and I can monitor it on the app as well. I've also purchased the Nest thermostat, but I haven't had it installed yet, so jury is still out.
Other ways I'm making my mom's life easier - the iHome plug connected to her living room lights, so I can turn them on and off remotely from their app and schedule them on a timer.
The last item I can recommend is the Flipper Big Button TV remote control. My mom keep pressing the wrong buttons on her regular remote, (changing the input, pulling up the menu, etc). Have you ever tried to explain exactly what the input button is and does to someone who know nothing about technology!? Anyway, this remote is great! It turns the tv on and off, changes the channel and volume. That's it. The buttons are big, and easy to see even without glasses. I hid the other remote and have had no problems since!
Other things I'm looking into - a smart lock for the front door and something new I just saw on Kickstarter, a knob to put on the stove burners that lets you turn them off remotely. Genius! I know there are smart ovens and refrigerators on the market, but she already has new appliances and that wouldn't make sense for us at the moment.
Do you have any other ideas? How to do keep your eyes on your elderly parent, relative, sibling, friend, etc? Please share!