Santa's Chef Picks

There's always someone on everyone's list who is impossible to buy for.  They don't really need anything, they either have no hobbies or have ridiculously expensive ones like collecting jets, or they're super picky.  If you can relate to this, I'm sorry to tell you that I have no solution to that problem.  However, I have made a list of some of my favorite things in the kitchen, so if you have any chefs or bakers you're not sure what to get, I can help you with that!  These are things I use constantly and am constantly thankful for or raving about them.  No one has paid me to recommend anything, but I thought I'd share some of my favs with you because I knew you were just dying for my recommendations.  You might even find yourself wrapping one up for yourself.  Everyone does that, right?  Happy shopping!


Flexible Grip Mats from Crate&Barrel

What I love most about these mats is that you get three in different colors so we designate the white one for meat only.  The boards are flexible which makes them easy to throw chopped up veggies into a pot or a bowl.  I like these so much I ended up buying a second set because my first ones were always dirty.


Parker Nesting Bowl Set from Crate&Barrel

I should begin with saying that I also have two sets of these bowls (I broke the big one and was heartbroken so I got another set because I used the biggest bowl so much).  The colors offered change depending on the time of year.  I love having different sizes and there's always at least one coming out of the dishwasher because I really do use them daily.


Cookbook Stand from Crate&Barrel

If you hadn't noticed, I kinda have a thing for Crate and Barrel.  I've found some unique, reasonably priced things there I love and their products seem to hold up really well, so I'm a big fan.  They also have great customer service which is a really big thing for me.  Anyhow, this was a gift from Mr. C and I never thought I'd be so happy to get a kitchen related item for Christmas.  I love cookbooks and this is perfect for using them and keeping the pages clean.  It works much better than the method I used before which involved laying the cookbook on the counter and piling cans on the corners to keep the book open.


Progressive 19-Piece Measuring Cup and Spoon Set

This was also a gift from Mr. C.  When I said I wanted measuring cups I really wanted some pretty ones....you know, the ones that aren't really functional but look good.  Well, he got these instead and they are amazing.  Instead of having to use 2 measuring cups to get 1 1/4 cup I can just grab one of these.  They are BFF's with my bowls and cutting boards since they hang out in the dishwasher together so often.


Spatula set from Target
Awhile back I bought a mini spatula set from Target and I'm in love with the thing.  I couldn't find it online  but I did find this set that has multiple sizes.  I honestly believe a person can never have too many spatulas and I love the silicone ones.  I've also had great luck at finding some at Home Goods and Marshalls pretty cheap.



Lettuce Knife from Target
You might think a knife just for lettuce sounds stupid, but using a regular knife on your lettuce can cause it to turn brown faster.  I couldn't find one available online, but target always seems to have some available in their kitchen section.



Kitchen Scrub Cloth from Norwex
My wonderful friend Kari sells Norwex and after ordering some things I was hooked.  I now only use Norwex towels to clean and love the dishcloths.  They're all anti-bacterial too.  Once you get one thing you'll be sucked in though, because the stuff is so amazing!


Cookbooks are always great gifts too I think.  I have an addiction to cookbooks but the ones I pull out the most are:
Everyday Food: Fresh Flavor Fast
Eva's Kitchen: Cooking with Love for Family and Friends

Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl
The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food from My Frontier

Bride & Groom: First and Forever Cookbook

Good luck with your Christmas shopping!

Oh Christmas Tree

Oh my goodness.  I had half a post written and I really was going to publish it but then I had a surprise party for Mr. C. that sucked up about a month of my time, and then I was in Christmas decorating mode, and then Thanksgiving happened (yes, this is in chronological order and Christmas decorating did occur before Thanksgiving for this year only), and then I geared up for the magicalness of Black Friday, and then I took a weekend to finally clean the house and relax a bit and now here we are and you never got to read the post.  But, I wrote you a new one with Christmasy stuff so you really aren't missing out on anything.

We took advantage of my parents being in town in November and recruited them for some Christmas decorating help.  My dad and Mr. C did the outside of the house with some little lights on the trees and the big ceramic bulbs around the roofline.  it makes me so happy when I get home!  My mom and I did a lot of the inside of the house and it was so nice to decorate with her again.  I was ready to change things up a little bit this year and it was very helpful to have another decorator to try things out I hadn't thought of.  My parents had never been in town when our Christmas stuff was up so it was really nice to be able to enjoy the decorations together for a couple days.

Oh pretty Christmas tree, how we love you!  We have a very large 9 ft. tree which Oreo has claimed as his own.  He also thinks the ornaments are strategically placed toys for him.  He's finally stopped batting at ornaments so much because he's moved onto chewing on my pretty wrapping paper.  Whose idea was it to get a cat anyhow???  Oh that's right....it was mine.  And if you're wondering why we don't put the presents under the tree like normal people, it's because Oreo is training us to do what he wants and apparently it's working.

Above the TV stand is some garland and our nutcracker collection.  We bought our first one when we went to the Nutcracker ballet and it's been a tradition since.  I love how unique they all are and for some reason they don't creep me out the way some nutcrackers do.

I did a little more decorating in our bedroom this year.  I added an extra mistletoe ball over the bed and wove some garland into the headboard.  We switched out our bright pillows and white duvet cover for the thicker, green duvet we use for the winter, and I'm really love looking at the bed all made up now with the decorations.  I also hung the "Merry Christmas" garland I made last year for our photos over the bed.

The tree in our bedroom is much smaller than our main one, but I love it because it holds most of our special ornaments.  Every year I usually get at least one ornament that represents something that happened that year. I love putting the ornaments on this tree because it brings back memories and each one really is so special to me.

I decided to make a new table centerpiece this year and made this for under $15!  

The ornaments in the middle came from Target's $1 section.  I already had the glass containers from our wedding centerpieces.  I found the greenery at Michaels for $1.99 and the snowflake ornaments were .50 each.  I cut off the thin hangers on the snowflakes and used ribbon to make them various heights.  It ties in perfectly with the colors on our tree too which I’m pretty darn excited about.

I hope you have your decorations up and are ready for Christmas!