Every toddler mommy needs a hot dog cutter

barbecue, kids, products, summer | June 22, 2012 | By

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No, I’m not being sarcastic either. Really.

Hot dogs are one of those strange foods that kinda creep me out when it comes to letting kids eat them. Unfortunately, I’m not even talking about nutrition. How many hot dogs you feed your kids is your own business and I‘m not going to judge at all much. ;)

No, actually it’s the slippery, slimy texture and kids’ tendencies to take bites too big that cause my hear to skip a beat or two when I see parents hand over whole dogs to their one year olds. And if I’m watching your kid, you better believe it will always be cut right down the middle length-wise and then sliced across into several rows.

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Which means I need one of these. This is exactly how I cut them and there aren’t any blades either, so even the kids can take care of chopping their hot dogs in one smooth, adorable move.

 
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Come on, it even has a food/water bowl to add in ketchup or other random condiments. Yes, yes, I know it’s a silly, unnecessary unitasker….but for only 6 bucks? You’ll save more than plenty of time by not having to slice every one over the years by yourself, and you won’t have to pull me out of your throat when I jump down it for you not cutting them. :P

Kitchen Kong whisk buddy

products | June 1, 2012 | By

Plastic silicone gorilla monkey figure that looks like King Kong inside a whisk

No, I’m not trying to make a lame pun.

I’m repeating a lame pun because that’s what this little guy is actually named….Kitchen Kong.

I do think it’s quite adorable, but why on earth I’d want him inside my whisk, I have no idea. As if whisks aren’t already a pain in the butt to clean, but then I’d add a silicone toy that would need to be cleaned, too? I think I’ll pass.

Van Gogh’s ear slides into a vat of chili – Product dump #1

fun, funny, products | May 3, 2012 | By

You know how when people save up a bunch of pictures, and toss them in a picture dump post? The same for link dumps? They don’t think each one deserves its own post or maybe they’re behind on time and can’t write about each little thing.

That’s where I am. I’ve said it a million times before: I have THOUSANDS of links saved and THOUSANDS more pictures of my own that I want to share here. I’m never going to get through them all, of course, so I pick and choose. Well after yesterday’s post about the rolling pin I was drooling over, I figured I should probably just do a “product dump” and talk about some of the ones I’ve tucked away for a rainy day where I feel like shopping for random kitchen accessories.

For the record, all links are -not- affiliate links. Yes, that includes the Amazon ones, simply because my state no longer allows that anyway, even if I wanted to. No advertising. No sponsorship. No requests. Just quirky stuff I want. ;)

Stainless steel reusable straws

Reusable Stainless Steel Straws – I don’t use straws often, but if I were to have some at home, I’d want these. I’d probably drink more water and hey, I’d finally have a use for all those old pipe cleaners!

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Universal jar lids – They’re supposed to fit most Mason jars, so it’d be another easy way to turn standard jars into more versatile containers.

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Bull clip hangers – This one isn’t something to buy, but rather, a really easy fix for the kitchen. Instead of draping towels over the oven door handle and picking them up when they inevitably fall off, just tie ribbon through some bull clips and you’re good to go without the slippage.

Van Gogh's missing ear on a coffee mug made of silicone plastic Van Gogh ear mug that changes with hot and cold liquid water

Van Gogh Mugs Yes, there are not one, but at least two different sets of mugs that focus on Van Gogh cutting off his ear. The first mug seems clever enough by appearance, but there’s more to it: It’s made of silicone, so you can twist and tug and pull on that ear to try to take it off, ha. And the second requires you to use hot and cold temperatures to get his ear to appear and reappear. I won’t be buying these, but they still make me giggle.

Spaghetti scrub scrubber made of organic materials instead of steel wool alternative with no soap needed

Spaghetti Scrub – “are an eco-friendly alternative to cleaning and taking care of your cookware and appliances. Each uniquely shaped, pliable scrub consists of natural abrasives made from corn cobs and peach pits. There is no need for soap or cleaner since the  abrasives are enough to do the trick. All it needs is moistening with water and if you would like to use soap, just a tiny amount would suffice.”  I just want to taste one….

Dinner tray for the lap that doesn't spill

Lappers Diner Tray – No more balancing on my lap. Enough said.

Ice cube tray bowl wine serving bucket

Ice Cube Maker & Bucket – “Simply remove the inner bucket and fill the orb with water to the indicated fill line. Place bucket back in the orb (displacing the water), place lid on and pop into the freezer.Once frozen, again pull out the bucket, pop the ice cubes out of the wall and either use, or store inside the bucket. The orb doubles as a wine bucket or as a serving vessel.”  Seems excessive unless you serve a lot of wine at backyard barbecues, in which case, you should probably get a few of these….and a new freezer to hold them all.

Stainless steel fruit slide where old fruit apples are at the front bottom and new is added to the top

Fruit Slide – Because fruit bowls are so 90s…

Large industrial kitchen cooling paddle to cool down huge pots of soup chili quickly

Soup cooling paddle – You know how I am when I get to cooking. 10 quarts of chili? Let’s do it! I hate waiting on large roasters and crockpots full of food to cool down so I can split it up and get it into the freezer, though. You can actually do this with frozen water bottles if you want for it to cool down a little bit first, but that’s not nearly as cool looking. ;)