Forget the mundane

Who would have ever thought that we could give our dishrack an architectural bent? With Black and Blum’s High and Dry Dishrack we can!

Sculptural while being functional, the rack comes in white, green or grey colorways and it folds down to a flat compact shape for easy storage. The wave of spikes is designed to hold glasses and there’s a drainage tray with a flip up spout so that you can chose to drain or not, depending on your kitchen set up. There are also two sleek cup holders for cutlery. Better yet despite its innovation design since it’s made from polypropylene and stainless steel it’s super easy to clean.

Hey folks at Black and Blum – when are you going to give [...]

Killer iced coffee

Don’t get us wrong we love the convenience of our Nespresso Pixie, but sometimes a mama needs a nice, cold cup of iced coffee – yes, even in the winter (thank you very much hot flashes…). Sure we could run to our corner coffee shop or chill our hot coffee in the fridge, but let’s be honest here, hot-brewed coffee that had been chilled isn’t all that delicious. Unfortunately cold brewing isn’t an option for us, but that doesn’t mean we have to settle. A Brooklyn coffee-brewer recently came out with a cold brew by the bottle called Grady’s Cold Brew. All you do is mix the concentrate with milk or water (one to one ratio) and pour it over ice — ahhh our caffeine and calcium fix all in one!

The concentrate is hand-brewed daily and comes with a sticker that let’s you know exactly when it was made and how long it will be good for and, given that it’s made with ground chicory and spices, the resulting drink is smooth while packing in some hearty flavor.

Just remember that when you find yourself sweating buckets in near-zero degree weather it’s the small stuff that will make you happiest…to that end, we might have to [...]

Stop cold/flu season in its tracks

Now that all the cocktail and dinner parties we hosted in our homes are behind us, it’s time to disinfect and protect! Flu season is officially upon us and we’re doing all that we can to prevent any one of us from getting sick. A nifty little device to help us along is the Pocket Purifier.  Super easy to use, it effectively eliminates and kills intensive germs/bacteria found on any hard surface. The handheld germ-killing UV light kills 99.9% of all germs that cause colds/flu, e-coli, salmonella, mold, fungus and more. Better yet, it’s small enough to fit into even the teeniest of diaper bags and has dozens of uses from sanitizing pacifiers, bottoms and inside purses or kids’ backpacks, diaper bags, toys, kitchen counters and cutting boards, bath sinks and door handles, cell phones, the same keyboard everyone uses during flu season, public bathrooms, hotel remotes and phones, handheld games and controllers…you name it.

All you do is pass the unit over a particular surface area for 10-15 seconds and voila!

We’re not gonna lie [...]

The best popcorn - ever

It’s fascinating – scratch that fascinatingly infuriating – to see all the things over which our little ones can find a reason to fight. One of the most recent? The crunchy half-popped kernels in a batch of popcorn we set out for movie night – seriously. Some down time let us to a little Google searching and low and behold we actually came across a solution! Turns out that there’s a delectable product called Halfpops available in two flavors—Natural Butter and Pure Ocean Sea Salt and Natural Aged White Cheddar – both of which are all-natural, gluten-free bags of crunchy half-popped kernels! Halfpops are also free of hydrogenated oils, corn syrup, or preservatives.

Of course now that we’ve got some bags of these yummy treats the kids deny ever fighting over which kernels to indulge in, in the first place, but that’s besides the point because not only are they too busy enjoying this popcorn to fight, but the hubbies can enjoy them too because they’re produced in a nut-free facility.

Available online and in about seventy grocery stores (mostly in the Pacific Northwest), you can now vote on what new flavor the brand should launch. The choice are [...]

The perfect pairings

Forget wine and cheese and forget tea and scones because for the perfect pairing, it’s all about cookies.

We (and our guests!) went head-over-heels wild when we plated cookies crafted specifically to pair with our wines (red, white, or sparkling), and our tea and coffee selection. Called Cookies & Corks, each giftable box comes with three sweet and savory cookies that pairs impeccably with a variety of wines – think Zesty Lemon with a Merlot, Apricot Sage with a Chardonnay, Espresso Chocolate Peanut Butter with a Pinot, or Sea Salt Chocolate Oatmeal with a Sangiovese. It’s a lot of fun to experiment and see how different cookies complement and enhance the flavor profile of different wines and it makes for an interactive dining experience – not to mention great conversation.

Post wine wind down the evening with the adorably named Biscottea, a brand that makes shortbread cookies created with real tea to pair with, you guessed it tea. The tea flavor lingers well after your last bite and the brand’s light, crumbly shortbreads come in a variety of delectable flavors including earl gray, chai, mint, blueberry and African honeybush. They’ve also recently launched Bis*Coffee, which are shortbread cookies infused with real coffee (and chocolate!), which are meant to be paired with coffee.

One thing’s for sure [...]