Small-Budget Kitchen Improvements

I think the kitchen is the most important room in the house. That was one of the main selling points for this house and one of the biggest reasons we chose it. Obviously, there were other reasons, but knowing that the kitchen was good just the way it was and that we wouldn't have to (eventually) remodel the whole thing was a big plus.

Of course, if your kitchen is less than ideal, there are some things you can do to update it. Without spending a fortune.

• Decorate - it may seem that your kitchen has enough stuff in it with all the appliances and other items necessary for preparing food, so you may not think about adding more stuff in the form of decor. Start with a few decorations and things that make you happy and see how it boosts your mood. 
• Even something as simple as a nice clock can make a bold statement in your kitchen, while also being functional. PenduLux clocks are a great choice thanks to a wide selection of handmade items to choose from.
• Your kitchen is supposed to be a happy place. If it no longer feels like that, changing the color on the walls may be the perfect antidote. The cheeriness of a new color will rub off on you and make you smile every time you see it. Like the way we changed our kitchen walls from blue to green shortly after we moved in. The green still makes me happy.
• You use dish towels and cloths every day, so why not make them more fun? Buy kitchen linens in bright colors and patterns to help boost your mood and creativity. Even when you're not using them, they'll add a cheery splash of color draped over your drainer or hanging from your oven door.
• Change up Cabinetry - whether or not you have the funds for a full kitchen renovation, making changes to existing cabinetry can be a cheaper option.
• If the bones of your kitchen cabinets are still viable, give them a good cleaning and a fresh paint job. Sometimes a different shade makes a huge change.
• Replace hardware. Even something as simple as a hinge can make your cabinets look instantly more updated.
• If you have the space, tear out a small section of cabinetry and replace it with open shelving. Open shelves can be a lovely spot for displaying hard-to-store things like cake platters.

Kitchen improvements don’t have to be dramatic to create an impact in your home. Invest in the changes to your kitchen that make you happiest.

The most important tip of all is to fill your kitchen with the people you love.
Grandchildren make the best kitchen decoration!

Keep Your Fridge Running Smoothly

You might think that appliance repair has gone out of style since there are so many cheap economical options for appliances, but you would be wrong. When given the choice, the majority of Americans would still rather buy very expensive appliances that function perfectly and last decades instead of near disposable models that can be replaced at the drop of a hat. Considering that the average refrigerator can run over $3000 even in residential home stores, it's no wonder that refrigerator repair services still exist and thrive in today's world.

When someone has invested thousands of dollars in a refrigerator, it's common sense that they need a place like Sub Zero repair Ft Lauderdale based. Sub Zero is an old pro at taking care of appliances both before and after they break down. Believe it or not, there's more routine maintenance on a fridge than you might think. Having it inspected once in awhile to see what kind of parts or products it needs to run smoothly is still a common thing when people buy more expensive appliances. These services work on a host of common refrigerator issues.

Here are but a few of today's most common issues with a fridge:

• The fridge stops cooling and the food begins to warm (spoil)
• Ice maker doesn't produce ice or it's not as cold as it should be
• Defrost drain becomes clogged
• Freezer is still working but the fridge begins to warm
• Noise issues (It might rattle or run too loud)

These are just a few of the things that can go wrong with today's refrigerator. If you've invested a lot of money in your fridge, you don't want to go out and replace it every time something doesn't work. Instead, hire one of today's certified technicians to come inside your home and inspect your refrigerator. Nine times out of ten, they'll be able to get your fridge up and running again for a lot less than the price of a new refrigerator.

Repair services like Sub Zero are capable of performing both maintenance and repair on today's most popular brands of refrigerators. Routine maintenance, as well as periodic inspections, can help you avoid unexpected and costly repairs.

Some Ideas For Kitchen Countertops

If you get the urge to make changes to your kitchen but don't want to spend a fortune, then maybe you should consider just updating your countertops. When you redo all of your kitchen countertops, the whole kitchen is going to look like it was remodeled to your family and friends. It can take some work to redo your countertops, but the end result will make all of the work worth it.

Here are some ideas for updating those countertops:

• Painting Your Countertops
  One of the simplest ways to change the look of your countertops is to paint them. It is important to understand that you cannot just buy any paint off the shelf and use it on your kitchen countertops. You need to buy a special kit that has the primer and paint that you need to get the job done. Prior to putting on the primer, you should also fill in any cracks or holes in your counters to get a result that is smooth and spotless.
• Resurfacing Your Countertops
  In the last few years, new kits have come available that homeowners can use to cover their kitchen countertops in a new vinyl covering. The covering is extremely durable and there is a wide variety of colors and patterns to choose from. It takes a little effort and some precise cutting to get this job done, but you will have new countertops that will last for years and look great at the same time.
• Replacing Your Countertops
  If you do some diligent searching, you can find durable and beautiful countertop material at discount prices. Imagine finding a low-priced marble slab and using it to create the countertops you have always wanted. This counter refurbishing project will probably require the services of an expert contractor, but the end result can completely change the look of your kitchen and possibly the entire first floor of your home.

Any remodeling work you do in your kitchen is going to improve the overall look of your home in some way. When you give your kitchen countertops an overhaul, you are going to add plenty of new life to your kitchen that your guests and family will notice.

What Should You Update in Your Home?

I was talking to a friend this past weekend, and he was telling me about some improvements he'd been making to his house. It seems there's always something to be improved, doesn't it? What gets done and how soon all depends on time, money, and priorities. His home improvements involved pulling the carpet out of a couple bedrooms to expose the hardwood floors underneath, which sounds like a project that mainly takes time and manpower, but not a lot of investment. That's my kind of improvement. I was especially interested because we have a wood floor underneath the carpet in our bedroom, and I would love to pull that carpet out and expose the wood. The upstairs carpet is in decent shape, so it's not a huge priority, but it would be nice. We've been a bit worried about how the staples that hold the carpet down may have damaged the floor, but my friend said it wasn't a big problem on his floor and reminded me that the tack strips for the carpets are only around the edges. We may have to think about pulling that carpet out one of these days.

We've already done quite a few improvements around here since we moved in, the major one being pulling all of the carpet out of the downstairs and putting in wood floors, and replacing the laminate floor in the kitchen with ceramic tile. We certainly like it better, even if it isn't one of the things listed in this HGTV article entitled Which Home Improvements Pay Off?

Unsurprisingly, kitchens and baths made the list.

So exactly what should you improve when you redo your kitchen or bathroom?  Think traditional: all-wood cabinets, commercial-look appliances, natural wood or stone floors and stone countertops.

I certainly can't argue with that. One of the big pluses in this house was that the kitchen had been remodeled a few years back. I may not have chosen the exact marble slab or granite counter top they chose, and I never would have chosen the light cabinets they chose, but I got a great kitchen, and I didn't have to make all those decisions and live through the tumult of a kitchen remodel. The few days I couldn't get into or use my kitchen while the tile was installed were hard enough. I use my kitchen a lot.

If you're planning an update to your kitchen, I say definitely go for it. I think the kitchen is the most important room in the house, so every house deserves a great kitchen. Get some expert advice on which counter materials will work best for what you want and how you use your kitchen. As the HGTV article says, "if you're not planning to move in the near future, spend your money remodeling in a way that you'll most enjoy... Even if you get less than 100 percent of your money back, you're really ahead of the game over time because you get the use of all that space"

What kind of improvements have you made to your home? Did you do them with the idea of increasing the value of your home, or to increase your enjoyment in your home?

What is the Best Counter Material for Your Kitchen?

One of the huge pluses when we bought this house was that the kitchen had been completely redone and upgraded just a few years prior. Now, if you know me, you know that the kitchen is probably the most important room in the house. I spend a lot of time in there, and it has to be usable. Some of the other houses we looked at had kitchens that were just barely usable and would have had to be upgraded and redone as soon as possible. In one way that would have been nice because I could have had exactly the kitchen I wanted - in the end - but I certainly wasn't looking forward to the actual remodel.

Even though I didn't get to actually design my current kitchen or choose any of the colors or materials, I'm happy with it overall. And there are some really great features like the spice cabinets on either side of the cooktop. The one thing I think I would have chosen differently is the countertop. It's a nice color, and it looks nice, but I just don't like that it's glossy. When I wipe the counter, I always have to dry it too in order to keep it from looking streaky. Maybe I'm just picky...

The point of this story is that, if you are remodeling or upgrading your kitchen, be sure to research the types of counter materials that are available so that you pick the one that is best for you. Because you will be living with that countertop for a long time, and you want to love it. Don't just get a granite countertop because you think that's the thing to do.

Choosing from the wide variety of counter materials can make the decision difficult. They all can have both positive and negative features. You'll want to do more research and actually look at and touch and feel the different options, but here is a bit of information and a few of the more popular countertop materials:

• Soapstone - The non-porous nature of soapstone makes it a desired counter product, but it is a surface that can be easily scratched. Natural soapstone is lighter in color, but the surface can be oiled, providing a slightly darker coloration. This product is impervious to staining, but has to be sanded or oiled again to maintain a like-new look. Soapstone is the perfect choice for bathroom renovations.
• Marble - The variety of color mix with marble offers an almost guaranteed unique look to every kitchen and bathroom. The formed designs within the stone are different with every piece that is milled. Marble is considered very soft and should only be used in areas without a lot of traffic. This may not be the perfect choice if you have a number of heavy appliances on the counters.
• Granite - Granite is one of the hardest substances used for counters. It has to be coated with a protective seal to prevent staining, since it is porous. The colors of available granite are many and there is one that will fit any decorative style you wish to create, or match.
• Engineered Stone - Many types of engineered stone are made with crushed quartz embedded into resin. It creates a non-porous surface that is easy to clean and keep clean. There does need to be extra care taken to keep hot pots and pans off the direct surface. Use of pot holders is essential.
• Ceramic Tile - Tiles made with ceramic are durable, come in many colors and are popular for use in bathrooms, kitchens, and for backsplash. This product is not easy to scratch and doesn't easily stain, but individual tiles can be broken when hit with enough force. The grout can be the most difficult part to keep clean.

When you're ready, you'll want to contact kitchen and bath experts San Diego or the experts in your area to get started on your kitchen remodel.

What's So Great About This Thing They Call a Dishwasher?

I never had a dishwasher until we moved to this house a couple years ago.  Unless you want to count the kids who mainly just grumbled about having to do something around the house and seemed to have a hard time actually getting things clean.  Thinking about it now, they probably did that on purpose so they could hopefully get out of washing dishes in the future.  And it worked way more than it should have.

When we built our house in Wisconsin, I had the choice of putting in a dishwasher or just having a cabinet in the spot next to the sink.  I chose a cabinet, because you can never have enough storage in the kitchen.  And I didn't want to pay extra to have the dishwasher. When we moved here, there was already a dishwasher.  We did end up buying a new one when we bought our new refrigerator so that it went with the other appliances better, and we gave the one that was here to Beth, along with the washer and dryer.

You'd think, because we actually spent money on it, that I would actually use the dishwasher, and I have - a handful of times.  I just haven't figured out what's so great about it yet.  It seems it takes longer to figure out how things are supposed to go into the dishwasher than it actually does to just wash the dishes.  Seriously, I really have no idea how things are even supposed to go in there, and I just end up getting frustrated.

And then there are the things that can't go into the dishwasher - wooden handled knives and wooden spoons that will dry out, silicone scrapers and plastic things that will pick up the smell of the dishwasher soap and hold onto it for ages, anything that will rust if it's not dried right away, etc.  The only things left that can actually go into the dishwasher are usually glasses, plates, bowls, and other easy-to-wash things.  I mean, I suppose at least I wouldn't have to wash those, but if I have to fill the sink with soapy water to wash all the other things, it seems silly not to just go ahead and wash everything while I'm at it.  Considering it takes 2 to 3 hours for the thing to run, it's definitely quicker to just wash the dishes and get it over with. 

Also, there are only two of us.  There are definitely dishes every day, but it would take several days to fill the dishwasher up with the things that can actually go in there.  My thought is that it takes the same amount of water, power, detergent, and time to run the dishwasher no matter how full it is, so there's no reason to run it unless it is completely full.  It would just seem wrong.  The problem with that is there are things I use on a regular basis, and I need to have them clean before I'd ever think of running the dishwasher.  So, even if I loaded things in there, I'd be pulling them out again so I could wash them and use them.

I usually wash dishes after dinner, stack them in the drainer to dry overnight, and put them away in the morning while the coffee brews.  It works perfectly because I hate drying dishes.  If the dishwasher runs and I don't remember to crack the door open so air can get in overnight, unloading and putting the dishes away also includes drying.  Did I mention that I hate drying dishes?  Honestly, I have a hard enough time getting my hands dry sometimes, let alone trying to get dishes dry.

So, those of you who think you just can't live without your dishwasher - what is so great about this thing?  Oh, I'm sure I'm doing it wrong, but I honestly don't mind washing dishes.  It's one of my two favorite things to do when I want to warm up.  Or maybe that's three favorite things...

Dreaming of a New Kitchen

Kitchen Interiors
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We've been looking at houses again.  If you're confused because you thought we'd sold our house and already bought another one, that's another story.  Which I haven't posted here, but I should.  Soon.

Anyway, we've been looking at houses online, and there are several that could be quite nice for us.  Most of them will need a bit of work - from simple repainting, to completely ripping out the carpeting and installing new flooring.  Quite a few of the bathrooms and kitchens need some updating, too.

We're thinking that if we can get a decent deal on a house, we can afford to get some work done and fix it up the way we want it.  It would be kind of fun to be able to call someone in the area like this kitchen remodeling contractor minneapolis and see what kind of amazing kitchen I could have.

They say that the first step in any kitchen remodel, or any remodel for that matter, is to gather ideas, and I am definitely going to need to do that.  I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, so the kitchen is very important to me, but besides wanting plenty of cabinet space and counter space to work on, I have no clear idea about what I want in a kitchen. I'm more about function than about actual design.  I can look at the pictures of the houses and know if I like a kitchen or don't, but I'd have no idea what it would actually take to turn it into my dream kitchen.  I probably should start gathering some ideas on Pinterest.

I also hope there's something in our area like the Inspiration Design Center in Minneapolis.  Everything for the new kitchen is right there, and the showroom is designed to inspire plenty of ideas.  And then - they have 3D design capabilities, which means a new kitchen design isn't just lines on paper.  You get to see what your new kitchen will actually look like.  Jeffrey is always designing houses on paper or on his computer, but I have a hard time envisioning what it's actually going to look like just by looking at the drawings.  This would be much better.

So Many Dishes

If I'm the only one home, how in the world can there be so many dishes?  In one day.

All clean

Oh yeah - I made bread, cooked the turkey carcass from Thanksgiving, warmed up some chili and made some cornbread for dinner, and there were also dishes in there from breakfast and lunch.  They do add up, but I can stack a lot of them in the drainer, because, while I kinda like washing dishes, I do not like drying them.  Mostly that's because I have the hardest time actually getting them dry.  Seriously, sometimes I can't even seem to get my hands dry when I wash them!  It's really irritating.

Tomorrow I get to start all over again.  I need to make soup with the turkey broth.  I'm thinking this Split Pea Soup or maybe Lentil Barley Soup.  I guess it depends on what sounds good tomorrow when I'm ready to make it - and if I have all the ingredients.  Do I even have split peas or barley?  Guess I better check.  Tomorrow.  When I'm putting all these dishes away, while keeping out the ones I'll be using again.  No sense in putting something away just to get it out again!

My Repairman Canceled on Me

I called yesterday to find somebody to come and look at my stove to see why the oven won't heat.  I ended up finding someone from right here in Eagle.  I don't know if he was here a few years ago when I was looking for someone to fix the oven.  I didn't see a listing in the phone book.  This time I just went online and searched 'appliance repair Eagle WI' and came up with a list of local repair shops.  (I probably should have searched 'how to fix an oven that won't heat' because I'm finding all kinds of directions and even videos.  Maybe my husband and brother could have fixed the oven over the weekend and saved me the headache.)

I am trying to figure out why I used the phone book last time.  Does anyone really still use the phone book?  Yeah, obviously me - but usually all the phone books that we still get every year just sit in the front closet, until we get the new ones to replace them, and the old ones go into the recycle bin.  Anyway, I called the local repairman, and set up an appointment for today - sometime between 11am and 1pm.

Then this morning I went for my walk as usual, and sometime after I got back I noticed I had a voicemail.  It was someone from the appliance repair place calling to cancel my appointment because they were overbooked and that I should call someone else because they couldn't get to me until next month sometime.  I guess that's good for the company, but not so good for me, because I had to find someone else and didn't get my oven fixed today.

Maybe it's a good thing because I was having this really weird dream right before I woke up this morning.  I dreamed that the repairman showed up at the very end of that 2 hour window - right at 1pm.  He came to the door along with a short lady wearing big sunglasses and a young lady about 18 or 19.  It wasn't until they were all in my kitchen that I realized the short lady hiding behind the sunglasses was my friend Nancy from Kansas City.  What was she doing there?  She just stood in my kitchen laughing because I hadn't recognized her.  The repairman was a scruffy young guy with asthma who didn't seem to be very clear on the idea of personal space.  I didn't see him check or test anything, but he kept telling me how he'd have to order the part and come back to put it in, all the while repeatedly using his inhaler.  I was really happy to have Nancy there, because he creeped me out quite a bit, and I don't think I would have wanted to be alone in the house with him.  Oh, and then my mom just happened to be in the kitchen, too.

I know it was just a dream, and the appliance repairman from Eagle is nothing like that, but...

So today I called a Mukwonago appliance repair man, and he's coming tomorrow - sometime between 9:30am and noon.  Don't you just love those windows?  But I'll be here, and I'll be very happy to get the oven fixed.

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Call the Repairman First

Every time that I spend the day baking, like today, I really appreciate my stove - and Appliance Repair. I like to think that I didn't take the stove for granted before, but a few years ago, the oven stopped heating properly.  You really find out how much you depend on something when it stops working!

I ended up calling an appliance repair company to come out and take a look at it.  I thought it was the heating element in the oven that was going to need replaced - because, of course I know how to diagnose a problem like that!  The repairman who came out tested that, and that was not the problem.  It was bigger than that - the computer chip that controlled everything was bad.  The oven was just the beginning, this thing controlled the burners, the clock, the timer, everything.  That's when we had to decide, either go ahead with the repair, or buy a new stove.

A new stove was tempting... but in the end it would have cost more, and really my stove was in perfect shape - except for the not working part, of course.  So, we went ahead with the repair, and for about $300 we got, for all practical purposes, a new stove. Its body was in good shape, and with a new brain, it could again do the things it was made to do.  There is no way we could have actually gotten a new stove for that kind of money.

If any of your appliances stops working properly, I would strongly suggest calling an appliance repair company first, before you rush out and buy something new.  You can have a repairman come to your house, diagnose the problem, give you an estimate, and oftentimes fix your problem right on the spot, so you can get back to doing the things you need to do, all at a significant savings to buying something new.  Mine took a bit longer because the part wasn't one he carried in his van, so he had to order it in and then come back to fix the stove a few days later.  In the meantime, I realized how much I use the oven, even more than I'd realized before - and that's why I still appreciate it pretty much every time I use it.

Baby Proof!

Now that we've got a curious little 9-month-old boy hanging out at our house on a regular basis, we've got some changes to make around here.  So far that mainly has meant moving stuff off the coffee table and tucking cords away as much as possible - and keeping a close eye on him so we can turn him around whenever he tries to get into anything else.


Then he learned to open the kitchen cabinets.  Do you know how much stuff is in kitchen cabinets?  Very interesting and enticing stuff when you're a little guy.  So Tuesday night - with 'help' from the little guy - Jeffrey put Child Safety Latches on the kitchen cabinets.  I think if we'd put them on before Jason learned to open the cabinets he may never have noticed or thought anything of it.  He'd just think it was normal that the cabinets only open a little bit.  But, now he knows they're supposed to open - and there's all that great stuff in there - and he wasn't at all happy when he suddenly couldn't open them!

I'm not sure I'm all that happy about it either.  I'm happy I don't have to continually get him out of the cabinets and that he can't get into anything that might hurt him - but I don't know if I'll ever get used to having these things on my cabinets.  Again.  Because, of course, we had them on the cabinets when our kids were little.  I just keep trying to open the cabinets like usual and being surprised when they don't.  I can even go straight from opening one cabinet right over to another one - and I still forget about it and try to open it like normal. 

I didn't actually realize how often I get into my kitchen cabinets every day, until they got baby-proofed!

Happy to be Inside

I think winter is finally here.  It got up to about 23° today.  Definitely time to put the adirondack chairs and deck furniture away!  Actually we took the table and chairs off the deck on Friday and put them in the shed for the winter - because we didn't want to have to clean the snow off them the next day.  At the same time I pulled all the snow shovels out of the shed and put them in the garage where they'd be handy for shoveling the driveway.  And Jeffrey got to shovel the driveway on Saturday!

Ordinarily I would have helped him, but I was baking some biscuits for breakfast when he decided to go out, so I just let him.  We wouldn't want the biscuits to burn, would we?  One of these days, I think it would be fun to have one of these butcher block islands to roll my biscuits out on, but I'd need a different kind of kitchen, a big cozy one that has room for a table - and maybe a fireplace or wood stove and a couple of stainless utility sinks, maybe a stainless refrigerator and stove and a big ol' pot rack over the stove.  I'm thinking my design style is a combination of cozy and industrial.

For now, I'm happy with what I have.  Have I told you how nice our house is looking now?  Yeah, I'm really happy with it - inside and out.  It's almost like we have a brand new house.  I just need to do some more organizing and tossing of stuff to get rid of the clutter - and to keep motivated to keep up with it.

See What I Got from CSN Stores!

This is it - what I got from CSN Stores.

It's a Hamilton Beach 4-slice 'Toastation' Toaster and Oven

My old toaster had been having problems and not toasting things properly for a while.  I kept putting off getting a new one, thinking maybe I wanted a toaster oven - but just couldn't make up my mind.  So we just kept using the old toaster and pushing the toast down several times to get it toasted.  And then, when I was trying to decide what to order from CSN Stores, Cory made a comment about wishing he could toast 2 bagels at once, and it hit me - look at the toaster ovens!  I picked this one because it's a toaster and an oven in one.

When I found this, there were no reviews on the CSN Stores site, so I went looking elsewhere to see what people were saying about it.  I ended up finding some good reviews, and a better price, at Amazon.  When I went back to the CSN Stores site, I noticed the little 'Seen it for Less?' link next to the price.  So I clicked it and filled out the form with the price and the link to the competitor's website.  Within half an hour, I had already received a price match email from CSN Stores!  They couldn't quite match the price from Amazon, but they came pretty close.

With the price match, I had to call the 800 number to place my order instead of placing it online.  I ended up calling a couple times and talking to a couple different people, and they were both extremely helpful and friendly.  Their customer service is really great. Shopping with them was a real pleasure. And then - shortly after I'd placed the order, I received an email telling me that they'd upgraded my shipping so I could get my order faster.  I got it 3 days later!

Since then, I've been using it as much as possible. It definitely makes better toast than my old toaster.  It's also nice that you can look through the oven window to see your toast while it's toasting.  I haven't quite figured out what setting (1-6) I like for my toast.  I like my toast fairly dark, so I'm thinking somewhere between 4 and 6.  Mostly, I just keep an eye on it, and when it looks about right, I hit the handy 'cancel' button, and it pops right up!  Also, I really like the way it glows when I'm toasting something.  It looks so warm! I realize my old toaster glowed, too - on the inside - but it didn't have the handy window to see it.

I haven't used to oven part of it as much, but I have reheated some pizza and some apple crisp, and they both turned out great. I hate to reheat pizza in the microwave, because it gets kind of soggy or tough, and I hate to turn on the oven for just a couple slices of pizza - so this will be really handy.  It's not as big as some of the other toaster ovens I looked at, but I wasn't planning on cooking in it anyway.  Except I was thinking of getting one that included a rotisserie, thinking we might make our own rotisserie chicken once in a while,  but that one would have taken up so much space on the counter.  While the Toastation is definitely bigger than the old toaster, it isn't quite so big as some other toaster ovens, and I like that about it.

Cory's coming home for the weekend, and I got some bagels at the grocery store on Wednesday.  So he'll have to see how this toasts the bagels.  I'm not sure he needs to do two at once, but the Toastation can definitely do that.

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In exchange for my review, I received a promotion code from CSN Stores that I could apply to any item(s) of my choosing from their 200+ stores.

I Finally Got One

...and I sent one to my mom, too.

I've been wanting one of these Butter Crocks since I wrote a post about them ages ago.  I just never got around to ordering one, until now.  I started looking on eBay and found a really good deal, so I ordered one for myself.  I've been using it for about a week now, and I'm really liking it.  It makes me wonder what I was waiting for.  It keeps the butter at a nice temperature - so that it's spreadable but not too soft.  It's supposed to keep it good for 30 days, and with the weather getting warmer (AHEM! Weather, pay attention here!) it's nice to have.  I hate to keep the butter in the fridge where it gets too hard to spread, and I hate to leave it out on the counter where it gets really soft - and I'm sure it isn't really a good idea.  This seems to solve the whole problem.

So, after I used mine for a few days and decided that I like it as well as I thought I would, I ordered another one and had it sent to my mom.  It's perfect for her with the blue stripes.  I would have preferred red stripes on mine, to go with the strawberries in my kitchen, but I'm not complaining - because it works!  See HOW it works (video)

Have any of you tried these?  If you're looking for a good deal, check eBay.

I Love My GelPro Floor Mat

Remember a while back I entered that giveaway to win a GelPro kitchen floor mat? Well, I didn't win, but I did get a GelPro mat of my own. I was contacted by someone working with the company, and she asked me if I'd like to try one and review it on my blog. Of course, I jumped at the chance because I really wanted to try one of these mats!

The GelPro kitchen mats come in many different styles and colors. The one I chose is the Cordoba style in the Chestnut color. It ended up being a little browner than I had expected, but it still goes really well with my kitchen, and most importantly, it is so nice to stand on. What makes it so nice is that it has a soft, shock-absorbing gel core. I've never tried gel inserts for my shoes, but I'd guess this is like that - only better, and since I never wear shoes in the house, those wouldn't help me anyway. This floor mat is 100, 200, 300% better than those decorative kitchen slice rugs I've always had before. The only cushion those provided was from the rubberized backing.

I took this image off the GelPro website because the pictures I tried to take of my comfy feet on my own mat didn't turn out very well - so you get the mat, and no feet. Doesn't it look nice?

I spend a lot of time at the sink, preparing food and cleaning up after, so I put my mat right there in front of the sink. It has a non-stick backing, so it stays put wherever you put it, and it cleans up easily with just a wipe of a wet rag. It's new, it's pretty, I like to keep it looking good, and sometimes I even go into the kitchen and stand on it even when I don't have to. Cory really likes it, too - but apparently not enough that he's willing to volunteer to wash the dishes!

After using my GelPro floor mat for a few weeks, I believe GelPro when they say they have created the world's most comfortable and attractive anti-fatigue floor mat. If you spend a lot of time on your feet, I would definitely recommend these floor mats. They help alleviate foot pain and lower back pain, and they look nice while they do it!

New Colander

Beth bought me one of those collapsible colanders at work tonight. Have you seen them? They collapse down so they store better.

I hadn't until we were at the outlet mall on Friday, but Beth said not to buy it there because they have them at Marshall's and they're cheaper. So she called me when she got off work, before heading to Tim's, of course, and said she bought one. So now I'll have to see if I like it. If it works it will be really nice because I can get rid of a couple other ones that take up too much room in my cabinet.

I guess if I don't like it, Beth will want it for her kitchen when she gets one - because it has orange on it. No blue, but at least orange.

Win a GelPro Floor Mat

I'm trying to catch up with some blog reading, and I found this giveaway on My Wooden Spoon. Lori is giving away a GelPro floor mat. I'd love to have one of these. I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, and this would be a lot more comfortable than my cheap kitchen rugs. It says so right here.

My favorite color and style is the Cordoba in Chestnut. Visit My Wooden Spoon to find out how you can enter to win a GelPro floor mat.

Toast?

Image via WikipediaI am really going to have to make up my mind about the toaster/toaster oven thing. I toasted an English muffin today, and I had to push it down 4 times to get it toasted. This toaster is definitely not working properly.

I was thinking of getting a toaster oven instead of just a toaster, because I like the idea of being able to use it to bake or warm up some things, instead of having to turn on the actual oven, especially in the summer. We were looking at this toaster oven from Walmart - you can cook a pizza, bake, broil, even cook a rotisserie chicken in it. The only thing it doesn't seem to do very well is make toast. Actually, several of the reviewers say it doesn't make toast very well, and another one says it's perfectly golden brown, so I don't know what to believe.

Maybe I should just stick with a basic toaster? Any ideas or suggestions? Do you have a toaster oven, which one, and do you like it? Any toaster oven manufacturers out there who'd like to send me one so I can try it? It doesn't hurt to ask, right?

Soft, Spreadable Butter

Before I left today, I put the butter in the refrigerator. I like to leave it out so it's easy to spread, except in the summer because I'm afraid it will go bad. Then I have to remember to take it out before I want to use it. Now, also, we have a cat in the house, and I'm afraid that if I leave the butter on the counter, she will find it and eat it, or at least make a mess with it. So, when I remember, I put the butter away.

I have one butter dish that has a lid, and I feel better about leaving that one out, but it had to be washed so the butter was just on a plain butter dish, uncovered. What I really need is a French Butter Bell. I had never seen one of these before, but it would solve all my butter problems. It keeps butter at the perfect temperature so that it's always spreadable, but it won't spoil. The video and diagram on the site explain exactly how it works. Water keeps the butter cool and sealed from the air. Also, it's covered, so I don't have to worry about the cat getting into the butter. So far she's been pretty good about not getting on the counter, which I'm happy about, but I wouldn't bet my butter on it! The Butter Bell comes in 3 different colors, and this red one would go perfectly with the strawberry theme in my kitchen.

Vat19 has the most useful gifts. Just saying, in case you're trying to figure out what to buy me, for my birthday which is coming up next month. *grin*

Mama Wants a New 'TOY'

The big news around here is that Jeffrey finally got his big screen TV. He's been looking, and he's been wanting one for a long time. He finally found what he thought was a good deal, and he got free financing for two years, so he went ahead.

Now, I'm thinking that, since he got a new 'toy' that I ought to get something, too. Of course, he wouldn't object. He's always telling me I can get what I want. I found this Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer that would be really nice to have. It's not really a 'toy' but it would certainly be fun to play with. My current mixer, a hand mixer, isn't even a Hamilton Beach® Mixer. It's another brand, and it's my second one. I wore the first one out.

This morning I decided to make zucchini bread, and, while I was at it, I made this video:



If Hamilton Beach® thinks my video is creative enough, I could win an Eclectrics® Mixer. I want the red one that's in the video. Can I get the red one? The website is great. You can try out all the different colors.

Oh, I could have fun with this mixer! It's got 400 watts of power, 12 different settings, a flat beater, a dough hook, and a wire whisk, and a 4.5 quart stainless steel bowl with handle. That bowl would be great. You don't see it on the video, because I only got so far as to mix the eggs, oil, and sugar, but by the time I had all the ingredients in the bowl, it was all the way to the top. I had to be really careful not to make a huge mess.

Also about the video, I was going to say that I don't really dance around while I'm mixing stuff, but then I went back and finished mixing the zucchini bread, and I realized that, actually I do kind of dance around while mixing. Do I really want people to know that?

The Hamilton Beach® Eclectrics® All-Metal Stand Mixer also has a three-year limited warranty, so if I wear it out, they should replace it. Think of the things I can bake. It really is a 'toy' we can all enjoy. Like the TV.

The zucchini bread is in the oven and should be ready in about an hour. If you drop by, I'll share.