Housewares Archives - Page 5 of 10

The best photo blankets from Collage.com

Every year when the holidays roll around, it’s basically a guarantee that at least some of the presents I give will be picture gifts. I’m the photographer in my group and I have file after file full of pictures I’ve taken throughout the year of all of our many events. So, it’s expected that I … Read more

DIY etched glass mugs for your home coffee bar – without a Cricut or Silhouette!

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HolidayFlavorsareHere #CollectiveBias Since we’re lucky to live within walking distance of our co-op school, we often offer to parents who do pick up that they can come park at our house and walk with us to the school whenever they want. They know they will get some awesome conversations while we walk back and forth to school, and they also know that they will get offered a steaming mug of coffee to fend off the cold when we return from our walk. To celebrate the changing of the seasons, I wanted to make myself a cute little coffee bar that had everything at the ready for our guests to help themselves to the perfect mug of coffee throughout winter. All it took was a trip to Sam’s Club and I loaded up on everything I needed – Starbucks® Holiday Blend 60ct K-Cup® pods, Lindt Chocolate Assorted Lindor Truffle Bag 19 oz., and some fancy mugs to do a little glass etching monogram DIY.

Secret to a better night’s sleep: The Floating Comfort Pillow by Mediflow

Before I was a parent, I didn’t know how much difference a good night’s sleep really makes. Even though my kids {for the most part} sleep through the night, I have a horrible habit of staying up too late and then waking up too early. To add to the problem, I’ve also found that I … Read more

Find all of your kitchen needs at Kitchen Collection in Seattle Premium Outlets

Does your kitchen need a refresh? Or maybe you’re expecting guests this fall and winter and need some fancy new gadgets to make entertaining easier? If so, Kitchen Collection at Seattle Premium Outlets was made for you. Kitchen Collection provides unique and high quality products at exceptional values, from the basics all the way to … Read more

Personalize your exterior with 100% maintenance free HedgeScapes

Who knew that a few plants could make such a huge difference in the way you feel about the exterior of your home? I'm realizing just how important a little greenery is, and how much fun it is to have another area to decorate and personalize. One week with this fun little topiary greeting me morning and night and I'm already smitten.

Cleaning made easy with the Shark Rocket Complete with DuoClean Technology

Shark Rocket Complete Sponsored post There’s a rule I hear thrown around a lot about shopping for women, and every time I hear it, it makes me cringe. Marketing companies for years have been spreading the rumor that women don’t like practical gifts. And, while this might be true at some points in a woman’s life, like when she’s going through tough times or has had a life changing event happen, it absolutely is not a written-in-stone “rule”. Shark Rocket I, for one, love a good practical gift. Really, the more practical, the better. My favorite gifts in recent years have been 1) camera equipment that I needed for work, 2) a bread box, and 3) a new pair of boots. Honestly, the absolute best present ever is one that I really, really need – and maybe one a little nicer than I would be fine with. So, if there’s a deluxe version of a super practical, needed item, go with that.

That’s exactly what the new Shark® Rocket® Complete with DuoClean™ Technology is.

The perfect bread machine white bread {and how to keep it fresh}

I’ve gotta brag for a moment: I haven’t bought bread in over 5 months. If you know me, you know that I’m simply not a baker. I can cook, but baking is just too technical for someone like me that has problems following directions. So, the fact that I’m baking all of our bread is a really big accomplishment. And, the fact that the kids like it is a small miracle. My intro to baking started as a quest to find a decent sandwich bread that I could make in the bread machine, and I just wasn’t finding anything awesome and the kids were very disappointed with the results. I wanted our weekly loaf to be soft enough that it would make a good sandwich loaf, but also dense enough so that it didn’t just fall apart when you spread peanut butter on it or sliced it thin.

So, using the handwritten notes of my grandmother scribbled in the margins of the bread machine cookbook she gave me, I decided to modify the recipe we liked the best using a little trial and error and a lot of help from grandma. Thanks, grandma!Admittedly, there was quite a bit of error, but it was actually kind of fun trying out different ingredients and measurements. While doing this process I was really glad I was using the bread maker, as it took me out as a variable and made it easy to pinpoint ingredient and measurement changes because the process was so uniform.

When we finally hit on the perfect recipe, we were high-fiving in the kitchen as we enjoyed our now-famous loaf fresh out of the bread machine. The kids have now memorized the recipe and can basically do every step of the process, they just wait for me to plug it in and set it on the correct bread setting and loaf size.

Masha electric vegetable masher

It’s basically mashed potato season, right? I think we can all agree that while the holidays may not be entirely designed around this delicious potato treat, it definitely is not the same without them. Can you imagine a turkey dinner without a scoop of fluffy mashed potatoes ready for topping with gravy? I know, I know, I don’t want to imagine that, either.

Luckily, we live in a world where potatoes exist, and even luckier that we live in a world where we can mash them up and enjoy them any day of the year – but especially this time of year. Now that we agree that mashed potatoes are the unofficial spirit food of the holidays, we have to agree how to prepare them. For this, there is the Masha Masher by Salton that combines the unique aspects of a ricer with specifically designed blades that give you the lightest and most fluffiest potatoes anywhere. So, how does it work? Many people don’t know this, but conventional hand blenders and food processors actually rupture the starch grains, giving them a glue-like consistency. The Masha is different because it although it looks a bit like an immersion blender, instead it uses a low speed rotor to force food through an outer mesh, much like a motorized ricer. The result is perfectly mashed foods without lumps, in just seconds.

Looking for unique gifts? NOVICA has you covered!

Have you heard of NOVICA before? It's basically an online artisan market where you can get the most unique gifts and jewelry anywhere, and it's one of my very favorite places to shop. NOVICA works in association with National Geographic to offer an extensive collection of over 2,000 master artisans around the world and give you one easy place to buy – no traveling required.

They have a great selection of pieces that you just can’t find anywhere else and I love that each of their pieces comes with their own story and information about its country of origin. Looking for a hard-to-find item? Want truly unique gifts? NOVICA really has it all and is now my go-to site for those that are impossible to shop for.

Amazing battery operated candles from Luminara

There was a time when I lit candles each night while we were dining, watching TV, or just hanging out with friends to add a little ambiance. Now, I'm lucky if my meal is timed right so we can all eat at the same time, and by the time I flop down to watch TV for the day, the last thing I'm thinking about is lighting candles that I could potentially forget about if I fall asleep on the couch {which, I do 90% of the time}.

After having tried numerous other electronic candles, I found myself unimpressed with every single one I tried. They just didn't look like real candles when they were on, and I realized a lot of what I loved about real candles was the flicker of the flames, not just the light of the candle itself. Even when I tried "flicker" electronic candles, they just felt so fake.

But, then I found Luminara candles. I first found the candles at Pottery Barn and bought three with a gift card. Once I had a few of them at home and saw how beautiful they were placed throughout the house, I was addicted.