One of my kids LOVES to eat fruit, especially honeydew and cantaloupe, but I always make a mess of it when I slice it up for her. I’ve always wondered why there are special tools for slicing applies and peeling oranges, but nothing made for larger melons. Tonight, I found there is such a tool that allows you to cut a melon without making a mess. It’s the same idea as one of those slicers for apples, just on a larger scale. It’s only 8 inches across, so it’s not made for huge watermelons, but it can definitely handle smaller melons.

Today I came across what might be the perfect gift for my husband. What beer lover wouldn’t want to make his own home brew? Thanks to Mr Beer, you can! With a little bit of time (2 weeks) and effort, you can make 2 gallons of beer with this home brewing kit. Is that how Samuel Adams or the Icehouse guys started?

The little chef in my house (that would be my 9 year old daughter, Gracie, and not a rat named Remy) has a birthday next month. She certainly doesn’t need anymore clothing, or Barbies (trying to get rid of those, actually) and since we’re taking her to Disney for her birthday, she doesn’t need a big gift either. Since she loves to cook, I was thinking about another cookbook for kids, or some sort of kitchen tool, and then I came across this neat cookbook holder. Now that’s something even I could grow to love! I’ve seen cookbook stands before, but I never purchased one because I couldn’t find one that would fold down. All of the types I had seen required sitting on the kitchen counter 24/7. It’s got a splash guard and a conversion chart, too! The store it’s being sold at has all sorts of nifty things available, like these recycled sail bags and educational DVD’s.

As long as I can remember, we’ve had an extra fridge and freezer in our house. When I was a little girl, the extra fridge in our garage was a great place for storing an ice cream cake on my birthday, or extra beer for my father when he did yard work. I got used to having that storage space, so when we moved, an extra fridge was a must! With a family of 5, I tend to buy in bulk, and will buy extras of items on sale, so more than once I’ve been very thankful for the extra fridge and freezer space. It seems I’m not the only one who likes the extra space - I found a site selling American Fridge Freezers, and by that, they mean “American Style”. I guess we’re a big hit overseas? Who knew! The site offers some really sleek and modern fridge styles to buyers overseas who can’t find them locally. There are quite a few Samsung models (I have a TV by those guys!) and we saw those when we were shopping for our fridge - they are VERY high end…and so nice looking!

I previously blogged about the new steak knives my husband and I got before the holidays. We had priced out the larger knives at Kohl’s as well, but I held off, thinking they’d be great for a Christmas gift for my husband. The following week, I was in Ellenton at Prime Outlets with friends and saw the very same knives (a carving knife, a bread knife, and a slicer) for much less than Kohl’s, so I purchased them, and a sharpener.

If you’re considering buying new knives, I also found some great deals on these at Overstock.com, like this set with steak knives, kitchen shears, and a sharpener for only $99.99. We absolutely love ‘em and wish we hadn’t waited so long to get new knives!

I posted about some great sales online last week at the Disney Store - of course, I had to buy a few things to tuck away for Christmas. I even bought myself a little something - are you surprised? When I saw these Mickey Mouse cannisters for the kitchen on sale, I couldn’t resist:

Aren’t those cute? They’re a perfect match for my kitchen too, since we’ve got all stainless steel appliances and red accents. Finally, I’ve got nice cannisters that can sit out on my kitchen counter - my old ones were a hand me down set from my mom, and due to the “country” decor (think geese, blue, and pink - ack!) on them, I always kept them hidden away in the cabinet! The set of three is just perfect for me too - every other set I’ve ever had, or wanted to buy had 4 or 5 to the set. I don’t have that much stuff to store in containers!

Technorati Tags: Disney store, Disney online, Disney coupons, coupon codes, online coupons, Mickey Mouse

How many times did your parents yell that at you when you put your drink down on their nice end tables? I find myself repeating that mantra to my own kids, and even my husband from time to time. We just bought a new dining room room set, and we’ve got new end tables and a coffee table in our family room, so the last thing I want is to ruin that new stuff with a wet glass. Right now, I’m ashmed to admit we’re using some cheesy plastic and foam coasters we bought for a temporary fix this summer. Somehow…the months went by and we kept using them and I just haven’t found something I like to replace them with yet.

I definitely like the AbsorbaStone coasters. Some are a bit too cutesy for my liking, but others are more neutral and I could see using them in our home. I could get behind this martini glass set though! I wonder how absorb-ing that stone actually is though? If the condensation is going to roll off the coaster and onto my table, that’s a no-go. That’s why I prefer a coaster with a little lip around it to keep that from happening.

If I wanted to go really high-end, these coasters from Williams-Sonoma would be perfect! They’re simple, but elegant, yet not too over the top. They even have a little rim around the edge to keep that pesky condensation from spilling over. Sadly, pewter is not very absorbant, so if you leave your drink sitting for too long, you’ll end up with a small lake surrounding your drink in this coaster. The $59 pricetag for a set of 4 may be a dealbreaker too. ($69 if you want the set monogrammed with an initial!)

So the search continues…who knew coasters would end up being such a statement for the house?

Technorati Tags: home decor, coasters, Williams-Sonoma, Absorbastone

My husband and I have been married for 10 years, so we’re getting the point now where the things that we received as wedding gifts need to be replaced. Case in point - we had a Revereware set of carving knives and steak knives in a butcher block on our counter. My sister gave them to be back in March of 1996 at my bridal shower. The steak knives were super serrated and weren’t doing the greates job anymore, plus, the set only had 6 steak knives, so we decided to buy a new set. After doing some shopping around, we decided on a set from Chicago Cutlery. We were able to get one, well, actually two, at Kohl’s during a great half off sale. So now we’re the proud owners of 16 beautiful knives, that have their own fancy box to be stored in. They can’t go in the dishwasher, so I am constantly reminding my kids of that fact, but after sawing away on steak with our old knives for years…we’re thrilled! These knives cut steak like buttah - they actually make it MORE fun to eat. And since they’re a beautiful stainless steel, I don’t feel like I’m eating at the Outback Steakhouse.

Technorati Tags: steak knives, Chicago Cutlery, wedding gifts, carving knives, Outback Steakhouse, Revereware