Kitchen Essentials

This blog post was sponsored by AllModern and I have received product in exchange for this post. All expressed opinions are 100% my own. As always, I only work with brands that we love and write about products that we actually love and use in our home.

I've always had a soft spot for ages gone by, when things were simpler in life. So it's no surprise that I've always loved old fashioned, vintage and retro finds, or vintage inspired finds. I came across SMEG products on Pinterest around 4 years ago, right after I discovered Pinterest, and immediately just fell in love with their designs. I just love the fun and unique colors their products come in, especially the pastel green since if I had to choose an actual color (besides white of course haha), it's be mint green. It's just such a pretty color and since I decided to do my kitchen theme in a pistachio minty green color, these small SMEG countertop appliances from AllModern fit right in.

We go through a ton of toast in this family (and we're practically addicted to Sara Lee Artisan bread) so it's important to us to make sure we have a good toaster that works great and also looks aesthetically pleasing. Let me tell you, this toaster is the bomb diggity (not sure I've ever used that word before but this toaster sure warrants it haha). It has so many features I never knew a toaster was even capable of having, I mean toasters just toast bread, right? Well, this toaster can also defrost things, reheat your toast (without burning it) and even toast bagels one side at a time, talk about amazing. I also love that the crumb catcher at the bottom an be emptied with one push of a button at the bottom, just slide the little tray out and dispose of the crumbs, so much easier than trying to turn a toaster upside down and shake the crumbs out haha, definitely a convenient feature.

Another thing we use a lot is a blender, we were in the market for a new one so when I spied this one, and it matched the toaster and our kitchen, it was love at first sight. Smoothies, icees, soups, sauces, you name it, we use our blender for lot of different things. This blender looks so pretty sitting out on the countertop by our Keurig and I can't help but not store it in the cabinets, I mean, why would I want to hide something that pretty away? This blender works really great, it even grinds coffee beans perfectly which was another huge plus for us and the features and settings are pretty awesome. the only minor complaint I have about this blender is that I really wish that the pitcher was made from glass instead of plastic, since I typically prefer glass, but overall it's sturdy and well made so I don't foresee it ever being an issue, who knows, maybe one day I'll drop it and it'll bounce instead of breaking and I'll be glad it isn't made from glass lol.

I've been a fan of and owned KitchenAid mixers for years, my Dad bought one for my Mom years ago (which she still has) and before that, my grandma had one which originally introduced us to Kitchen Mixers. So when I got married and had a home of my own, I knew that a KitchenAid mixer was one of the must have items for our kitchen. I originally started out with a red one a couple of years ago when my kitchen as a chicken and red theme, but when I switched to mint, the red was seriously clashing color-wise, so naturally I started looking over all of the colors that KitchenAid had to offer, and this "pistachio" color immediately grabbed at my heart strings, and I knew... it was the one. Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic, but the color was totally perfect for my new kitchen color theme. I've been using it for several months and as I knew it naturally would be, the quality of this mixer is unmatched, KitchenAid is known for making products that last for years and years so I'm excited to see how many years this one will last us. I've been using it for everything from whipping up a batch of cookies to shredding meat for pulled pork, to making pie crusts to making my famous loaded mashed potatoes. This KitchenAid Mixer is one pretty workhorse.

SMEG and KitchenAid also have a variety of other small (and big) kitchen appliances that AllModern offers on their website, juicers, different sized toasters, mixers, electric tea kettles, blenders and even refrigerators! All in such pretty vintage styles and even more beautiful colors to match almost any kitchen and home. AllModern also offers everything you need to complete your home and any project, and usually some great sales as well! make sure to head on over and check out their awesome deals and products!

Fall Farmhouse Finds

Autumn is that time of year that I wait all year for, the crisp air, the crunch of leaves, the colorful foliage, open windows, pumpkin flavored everything, baked goodies, yummy candles, sweaters and cardigans and of course pretty fall decor! This year I was on the search for cute farmhouse inspired autumn decor that wouldn't break the bank and you guys... I totally found it! The Oriental Trading Company has so many adorable items and the prices are totally amazing!

This cotton wreath might be my favorite thing ever, I've been searching for practically forever for a cotton wreath that looked real and didn't cost a small fortune. Previously I hadn't been able to find one under $50, and when I found this one at less than $20, I was equally as skeptical as I was excited, but once it arrived I seriously couldn't believe it! It's nicer than some of the ones I've seen in stores for more than twice the price, and it's the perfect wreath to hang on our front door or as decor in our home!

Of course since it's autumn, we need alllllll the pumpkins! This pre-lit vine pumpkin caught my eye right off the bat and I just couldn't stop thinking how it would be the perfect fall decor piece. After seeing a few just like it in photos on instagram and how pretty it looked, I knew we had to have it. I had been keeping it up on the windowsill in the dining room but just moved it into our master bedroom and it adds such a warmth to the room; since I'm always rearranging things I'm sure it'll find it's way into another room or two before autumn is over though lol. It would also make a pretty piece to set on a mantle or even as a table centerpiece!

And since we can't get enough of pumpkins, this lovely gold dipped white pumpkin is just so cute! A cute little addition to add a fun pop of character to any space and something that I'll be excited to bring out year after year as the weather cools off for autumn.

Oriental Trading Company is seriously the place to go for any party, holiday or fun event you have coming up, I plan on shopping there often from now on and I'll share more fun  Oriental Trading Company finds soon!

Thanks to the Oriental Trading Company for providing product for this post. All opinions are my own.

Our Homeschooling Favorites

One little known fact about me is that I was home schooled from preschool until I graduated, so I'm excited be homeschooling Bella this year. It sounds weird to even be saying that, I mean, it was just yesterday that she was born, right? Even though she technically wouldn't be starting preschool for another year or so if she were heading to public school (because of the way her birthday falls), I wanted to give her a head start on learning with some fun new items! Though we aren't 100% sure whether we'll keep homeschooling her when next school year arrives or let her go to public school when the time comes, I'm excited to be able to teach her some with these items and to share more about them with you also!

This & That. Etc | United States Wooden Map Puzzle

Wooden puzzles are some of my favorite toy items for little ones, I just love how old fashioned and nostalgic they feel, and how they can actually look cute in a space instead of crazy colorful and bright. I'm just drawn to that natural wood look and this one is super educational as well! What better way to learn about this great country we live in, the United States of America, than with a sweet wooden puzzle! Each Puzzle that This & That sells are handmade and hand stained, plus each little wooden state state cutout has the full name of each state listed, making remembering the names super easy! It's just the perfect toy for learning or beautiful as a display if you'd rather keep it up. Bella has already learned so much about the United States since we received this pretty puzzle, where a lot of them go, and what a lot of their names are. Perfect for learning domestic geography at a young age for sure.

Chalk Full of Design | Trace-n-Erase Chalkboards
Chalkboards are one of my most favorite things since they're so classic yet can also be modern as well. I just love, love, love these little chalkboards from Chalk Full of Design because not only are they pretty, but they're also functional! Your little one can learn their letter and numbers with the trace and erase feature and then you can display them later on! Each board is handcrafted with the finest care and attention to detail to ensure a no-smudge finish that will allow your little one(s) hours upon hours of tracing and erasing, memorizing their alphabet, how to write each letter, and more. I just love how they offer different levels of difficulty so you child can keep on learning with all of their products, starting at Step 1 (which is what these two boards are) all the way to learning cursive writing with Step 3! Bella just loves these and has had a blast learning how to write her letters and number since receiving them, bu the time we decide if she'll be home schooled from now on or if we decide to enroll her in school, she'll definitely be ready to go.

Kindergarten Toolkit | The Kindergarten Toolkit
We also couldn't help but add a Kindergarten Toolkit to our collection of Bella's home school supplies. This comprehensive toolkit helps build a basic foundation of reading, writing and mat skills. While some things might be a little advanced for Bella right now,  there's still so much she can get out of it and it'll also be a great way to introduce her to some new things and get her prepared for next year as well! This toolkit is full of so many great things, the Toolkit booklet, focuses on 10 main Kindergarten goals and there are around 3 to 4 mini lessons for each of the 10 goals. It also contains 4 sets of flash cards, both upper and lower case letters, number from 1 through 20, 25 sight words, and 10 different colors and shapes. The Toolkit also includes a whiteboard, a pen and eraser as well as a piece of sidewalk chalk (in case you want to take lessons outside on a nice day, or you could even pair it with the chalk full of designs trace and erase chalkboards. It's been so much fun to go through some of this with Bella and we can't wait to delve into more of it soon as the year wears on!