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Confetti Mixing Bowls (4 Piece Set) – Many Colors Available and They’re All Gorgeous

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Love these Zak! Designs mixing bowls. Love, love, love, love these Zak! Designs mixing bowls!  The set of 4 confetti mixing bowls (affiliate link) is available on Amazon in this killer color combo as well as many others.  In fact, whatever your color scheme is, you’re sure to find a set that harmonizes with it beautifully.

  • Set of 4 confetti-flecked mixing bowls inspired by vibrant colors popular in the 1950s
  • Crafted of recycled melamine; BPA-, PVC-, phthalate- and lead-safe
  • Perfect for food prep and casual serving; more dinnerware and serveware sold separately
  • Dishwasher-safe; not suitable for microwave use
  • Bowls measure 5-3/4 inches, 7-1/4 inches, 9 inches, and 10-3/4 inches in diameter

Click the link above for more information – head’s up, you’d better hurry before I buy them all. Seriously, I’m beyond infatuated with these bowls.


Pepper Appreciation Post: Peppers, Peppers, and More Peppers!

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Chili Peppers Salt and Pepper Shakers

Hot Chili Peppers Salt & Pepper Shakers

Ever have a food obsession sneak up on you? This is the case with peppers and me. I’ve had a life-long love affair with certain foods….

  • chocolate
  • coffee (don’t try telling me it’s not a food, I will not listen)
  • tea (see above)
  • coconut
  • seafood – specifically shrimp, cod, and catfish
  • eggs
  • onion rings
  • sweet potatoes
  • cream cheese


But peppers are one of those foods that came looking for me. This particular all-encompassing fascination with all things peppers actually just came about in the last two years.  I always found them to be beautiful, tasty, and very serviceable – but the appreciation never hit full tilt fanaticism until recently.

And yet, here I am, currently unable to get enough of them. It’s one of those situations where I have to reign myself in or I’ll put them in everything. They simply take whatever dish they’re in and kick it up notches.

Take tossed salads, for example. I buy those colorful little bags of sweet mini peppers (organic) and chop them up with the rest of my salad ingredients. They add more flavor and crunch than you can imagine. They also perk up potato salads, soups, scrambled eggs, and meatloaves. Stuff them with cream cheese or any cheese combination and they become show offs.

Love it when that happens.

 


Next time you’re in your produce section, find the little bag of mini sweet peppers or grab a couple of chili peppers or jalapenos and experiment with them. They add a lot of kick and excitement to so many dishes. Try roasting them before using them in recipes, too, for a real knock out experience.

5 Great Gift Ideas for Pig Lovers and Collectors

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I love pigs and I love pigs muchly. Everything about them from their snouts to their curly tails. Some may say I’m obsessed, and I’m okay with that. Truth be told, if my cat (Alexa) would allow it, I’d have a pet pig.

As it is, though, I cannot get her to agree to anything that would possibly infringe upon her castle, her toys, her beds,  her food… especially her food…. or her attention from her parents.

So, I’ll just continue to love them from afar.

As you’ve probably guessed, my kitchen is filled with pigs -there are salt and pepper shakers, bacon presses (feels wrong, but looks cute), measuring cups, mugs, gadgets, etc. Pigs everywhere you look. And not a one touches any of Princess Alexa’s things.

Thank goodness.

The cuties shown here are in my Amazon “Pigs” folder…. what? you don’t have an Amazon “Pigs” folder?… and will find their way into my kitchen soon enough. Click through each link to read more.

ONE Little Piggy…

Rust Pig Marquee LED Lighted Sign Wall Decor
The Rust Pig Marquee LED Lighted Sign Wall Decor (pictured above) is made of metal and would look pretty darn sweet hanging on a wall OR sitting on shelves, a mantle, hutch, or on top of cabinets. Love this guy.

TWO Little Piggies….

Topiary Pig Frame
The Pig Topiary Frame (check out that tail!) is ideal for indoor or outdoor use. Personally, I’m picturing her on top of my hutch, right beside the Pig Marquee sign. This adorable topiary can be adorned with any live plant growing on it but an ivy plant would certainly be a knock-out.  You insert the ivy plant into the frame and allow it to weave throughout the frame, then you trim it to fit the shape – an adorable pig shape at that.  You could even fill her with some “craft store” moss and insert little pink flowers throughout. That’d actually be pretty darn cute, too.

THREE Little Piggies…

Purple Pig Trivet
The Purple Pig Trivet will probably be the first one of these I buy – Purple is one of the predominant colors in my kitchen. A purple pig almost seems custom made for me, you know.

FOUR Little Piggies….

Pig Scrubby Holder
The cutie above is a Pig Scrubby Holder. You could  sit it right by the kitchen sink and I’m pretty sure he’ll make you smile each time you look his way. Who couldn’t stand a few more smiles while going about kitchen chores, am I right am I right?

FIVE Little Piggies….

Pig Mug and Spoon
The ridiculously adorable Ceramic Pig Mug and Spoon set pictured here is almost too cute. Also available are black cats (also a must have for me, as I also have cats everywhere you look), panda bears, and a frog mug and spoon set that’s cuter than it has a right to be.


Slimware Dishes: Ceramic Plates Review

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Slimware Ceramic Plates

A few weeks ago I was sent a GORGEOUS set of Slimware Ceramic Plates to review on the food blog. It was love at first sight and I’ve only fallen further in love with them each time I’ve used them.

Slimware dishes are “Smart Plates Designed to Encourage Healthy Eating Habits.”  Their innovative approach HAS to make every other dish and plate designer in the world ask, “Why didn’t we think of that?!”

Each plate is designed to help you keep healthy portions in mind as you fill your plate. The beautiful plate I was sent is the Bluebelle Slimware plate. Each plate is similarly designed, allowing the plate to be visually divided into four sections, varying in size. In Bluebelle’s case, it’s four flowers.

As you can see in the image below, the larger section is for vegetables (understandably enough!). The next largest section is for carbs/side dishes. The smaller sections are for proteins/entrees.

Slimware Plate Designed for Healthier Eating

I’m absolutely struck by how ingenious these plates are. They take all of the guesswork out of it – encouraging healthier eating while also reminding you to keep portion size in mind.

Features

  • Each Slimware box contains 4 MICROWAVE SAFE ceramic plates.
  • Slimware is a unique line of casual dinnerware with an emphasis on portion consciousness fused with elegant yet convenient dining. Why waste time with the tedious task of counting calories when you can just use your eyes to limit your portions. If you eat less, you’ll weigh less.
  • Slimware will change the way you LOOK at dieting! Each plate provides graphically-designed areas for food placement.

{Review Continued Below…}

Slimware Ceramic Plates
While I do love and applaud the thinking behind these plates, I’d be lying if I didn’t say that my favorite thing about them is how gorgeous they are. If the others are as beautiful as the Bluebelle dishes (and I’m certain they are!), you can’t possibly go wrong with ordering any design.

When I opened my box, I was immediately struck by how NICE these dishes are – thick, heavy, and very colorful. Everything about them says quality and I actually want more! I noticed on the website that they also have “Measure Up Bowls,” which are also beautiful.

As you can tell from the picture below (gluten free biscuits – YUM!), I use the plates for more than just portion control – they’re just absolutely gorgeous.

{Review Continued Below…}

Slimware Ceramic Plates with Gluten Free Biscuits
Bluebelle and Dandelion Dreams (white with dandelions) are Microwavable, Ceramic Slimware plates. Slimware also has a line of  Melamine Plates which include Urban Safari  (leopard print with bold, colorful flowers), Sunburst (bright yellow with white flowers), and Jubilee (red with cherry blossoms).

Any of These Plates (sold in sets of four) Would Be Perfect For:

  • … anyone trying to lose weight. Portion control cannot be emphasized enough!
  • …. Mother’s Day gift.
  • …. Father’s Day gift.
  • …. Christmas gift – for any adult on your list.
  • …  diabetics. A diabetic has to eat certain amounts of certain foods each day – what better way to measure them out than allowing your plates to do the work for you?!
  • …. anyone on any sort of restrictive diet.
  • … anyone who loves beautiful dishes!

{Review Continued Below…}

Slimware Ceramic Plates
Below is a video that will give you a little more information about these beautiful and innovative plates .  See Slimware for more information. You can also find Slimware on Facebook and follow Slimware on Twitter.

Slimware on HSN:

Miles Kimball Red Depression Style Glass Hen Candy Dish

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Miles Kimball Red Depression Style Glass Hen Candy Dish

Glass Hen Candy Dish from Miles Kimball

If you love animals and or nostalgia, you’re going to be as crazy about this Miles Kimball Red Depression Style Glass Hen Candy Dish as I am. My grandmothers, aunt, and mother had quite a few Depression Style dishes and the older I get, the more I love them.

Features:

  • Sparkling red hen
  • Replicas of dishes displayed on coffee tables in the Great Depression
  • Shimmers with cheerful color
  • Perfect for displaying or gift giving
  • Dishwasher safe

Take a closer look at the beautiful Miles Kimball Red Depression Style Glass Hen Candy Dish by following the link.


Halloween Salt and Pepper Shakers and Sets

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Halloween Ghost Salt and Pepper Shakers

I have a confession to make. Each and every year, like clockwork, I decorate for Halloween the first day of September.

I have another confession to make. It’s August 27th and I spent the morning putting out my Halloween decorations.  Please try not to judge me. Basically I’m a six year old that never quite grew up. This fact can be a real pain when it comes to controlling spending and candy impulses, but it certainly makes holidays a lot of fun.

As a salt and pepper shaker collector, it occurred to me – as I found perfect 2 month homes for my collection of “happy” ghosts (when I was a little girl, I was scared of any ghosts that weren’t “happy” – guess I assumed that if they were smiling they meant me no harm), scarecrows, trick or treating bears, and the rest of the gang – I don’t have a single set of Halloween salt and pepper shakers.

Not a single set! How did this happen?? Fortunately, I know the way to Amazon.

This post is for the other holiday lovers out there as well as other salt and pepper shaker collectors.


Cat & Pumpkin Salt & Pepper Set
As a cat lover, I’m pretty sure the set shown above will be the first one I order. I have two black cats of my own and two “grandkitties” that are black, too, so I’ve got a thing for black cats anyway. Contrary to what some knuckleheads may believe, black cats are actually good luck – and very, very beautiful!


Black Bat Halloween Salt and Pepper Shaker Set
 

While I can’t claim to own any black bats of my own and have no idea whether they’re lucky or not, I do think the set above is downright adorable.


Tombstone & Cauldron Salt & Pepper Shaker Set
For those of you who don’t mind a little spooky in your Halloween…


Spooky Skeleton Chef Glass Salt and Pepper Shaker Set
The handsome guys above and below would be just the sort of salt and pepper shaker sets two of my three daughters would go for. The other one is a total chicken like her mom.


Scary Skeleton Glass Salt and Pepper Shaker Set
You can find pages and pages of great Halloween Salt and Pepper Shakers on Amazon. Most are uncommonly inexpensive and all are a lot of fun. Ghouls, monsters, vampires, pumpkins, bats, zombies….


Cake Boss Mixing Bowls: SO Pretty and SO Useful

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Cake Boss Mixing Bowls

I have a new obsession in the kitchen: Cake Boss Mixing Bowls. One of the gifts from my oldest daughter (Emily) for Mother’s Day was a gift bag filled with Cake Boss Bowls: The Cake Boss 2-Piece Melamine Mixing Bowl Set (the pink and blue bowls) and Cake Boss Melamine Mixing Bowl , Small (yellow).

She’d seen that I’d written about them before here on the food blog and knew I’d love to actually have a set of my own.

I LOVE when my family reads (and catches!) my not-so-subtle hints!

These bowls are even more adorable in person. They’re fun, colorful, high-quality, and uber functional. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve used mine since Mother’s Day. I use them for waffles, cakes, cupcakes, whipped cream, beating eggs, cakes, cookies, and on and on.

I also use them for their looks – as in setting them out prominently to show off and look pretty!

  • Each mixing bowl is crafted from durable yet lightweight melamine and designed with a rubberized base for stability (no chasing the bowl across the counter top); top-rack dishwasher safe.  They are exceptionally unique and unbelievably good looking. I just love the retro look of these bowls.
  • They have cool little rims as handles on one side pour spouts on the other for pouring.
  • I also love that they’re “nestable” – fitting beautifully one within the other, with room to spare – so they don’t rub up against one another

These beautiful bowls are absolute perfection. Click through any of the links below for more information.

Cake Boss Mixing Bowls

See more Cake Boss Bowls on Amazon!

Pig Salt and Pepper Shaker Holder

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Pig Salt and Pepper Holder
From the e-mails you send to the comment you leave, I know y’all are as wild about pigs as I am.  When I searched Amazon earlier for pig salt and pepper shakers (I collect BOTH pigs and salt and pepper shakers, so it’s something I search for as often as I search for chocolate), I found this adorable guy.

This Pig Salt and Pepper Shaker Set is a little different from most salt and pepper shakers – after all, the star of the show isn’t the shakers, themselves, it’s the cutie cradling them.

Features:

  • Dimensions: 5 1/8″ x 4 1/4″ x 6 3/8″ high. Weight: 1.4 lbs.
  • Individually hand-crafted from cold cast resin with glass salt and pepper shakers.
  • Because our polyresin products are individually hand-crafted works of art, colors may vary slightly from what is pictured here.
  • Packaged in a decorative gift box. Spices not included.

Click through either the picture or the link above for a closer look. The set is less than $20, so I’m honestly tempted to buy one for salt & pepper and another one for garlic salt & seasoned salt.

Might as well go hog wild, right?

See Also: More Pig Salt and Pepper Shakers on Amazon.

Adorable Cake Boss Mixing Bowl Set

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Cake Boss Mixing Bowls
I’m one of those people who’s naturally drawn to the unexpected… the whimsical, even. That’s why our home is filled with things that make us smile. Whether it’s fat-bellied pigs gracing a kitchen shelf or a stuffed bison on a computer desk – the only requirement to get into our house is to basically be a smile waiting to happen.

The beautiful whimsical and whimsically beautiful Cake Boss Bowls, shown here, have an open invitation.

This 2-Piece melamine mixing bowl set has a 2-quart bowl with pink stripes and a large 3-quart bowl with a blue and white polka dot pattern.   Each beautiful bowl is crafted from durable melamine and designed with a rubberized base for stability – because few things are more frustrating than having to chase your bowl across the counter.

I also love that each bowl has a “pour spout,” as I’ve become so spoiled to those I seldom look at mixing bowls that are “pour spoutless.”

While they are TOP SHELF dishwasher safe, they would undoubtedly be among my extra-special dishes that  get the sink and Dawn detergent treatment.

Anything this adorable HAS to get the kid-glove treatment as far as I’m concerned.

See Cake Boss 2-Piece Melamine Mixing Bowl Set for a closer look.

While on Amazon, be sure to take a look at the entire lines of Cake Boss Bakeware and the extra gorgeous Cake Boss Serveware.

Isaac Mizrahi Dinnerware Sets – I Am Obsessed!

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Isaac Mizrahi Caribbean Color Dinnerware Set (Pomegranate)
I have a serious thing for dishes. I guess, if we’re being honest here, it’s kind of an obsession. The dish fanaticism hit before I even got married, actually.  I was with my mom, in a swanky store working on my “wedding registry.”

She had to physically pull me away from the dishes.

To this day the obsession remains – only difference is it’s my husband or one of my daughters that does the pulling these days.

I was recently browsing Amazon for colorful salad bowls when a small picture of the beauty at the top of the post (the Isaac Mizrahi Caribbean Color 16-Piece Dinnerware Set, Pomegranate) caught my eye. I abandoned my salad bowl search for the moment and went on a “Must find every dinnerware set designed by Isaac Mizrahi” mission.

I knew the world famous designer was one of the best (if not the best) when it came to clothes, but here he is flaunting his creativity in a completely unexpected place.

I’ve linked to a few here but, trust me (as in TRUST ME) there are many more unspeakably gorgeous sets on Amazon. You can find every color imaginable – as well as a few you probably had never even thought of.

Isaac Mizrahi Caribbean Color Dinnerware Set Kiwi Isaac Mizrahi Caribbean Color Dinnerware Set Blueberry
The beautiful dinnerware sets pictured above are from the Isaac Mizrahi Caribbean Color Collection. The colors available are Pomegranate, Kiwi, Blueberry, and (not pictured here) Kumquat.

The equally gorgeous dinnerware sets below (which also register at the top of the MUST HAVE scale) are from the Isaac Mizrahi Dot Luxe Collection. I can’t get over the adorable dots!

Click through any of the available colors (Navy, Orange, Chartreuse, and Teal) for a closer look at each.

Which of all of these sets do I want?

Every last one. That settles it, my husband is going to have to build me a second hutch or a second kitchen…

Isaac Mizrahi Dot Luxe Dinnerware Set Navy
Isaac Mizrahi Dot Luxe Dinnerware Set Orange
Isaac Mizrahi Dot Luxe Dinnerware Set Chartreuse
Isaac Mizrahi Dot Luxe Dinnerware Set Teal