Musings About Life... After Birth

To see the entire collection, click here. It’s gorgeous - and so reasonably-priced.

Seen in this month’s Domino Magazine (one of my favorite obsessions - seriously, get a subscription NOW, y’all - you will LOVE it): Dwell Studio, maker of seriously cool, mod textiles -the most popular of which are their crib bedding sets - will this February debut a line created especially for Target. Included in Dwell’s 12-pattern Target collection will be table linens, bedding (for adults and baby) and, for the first time, furniture.

For those of you unfamiliar with DwellStudio’s products, here are a few images:

Though the February issue of Domino features a few images from the collection, this is the only one available online thus far:

Catch me on XM Radio’s “Broadminded” Thursday afternoon at 12:20 PM EST (and replayed at 6:20 PM EST) on XM Channel 155. I’ll be joining Broads Molly and Christine to discuss the awesome makeover my kitchen recently got, thanks to some super-cool stainless steel Frigidaire Professional Series appliances, and also to test out some groovy kitchen gadgets.

If you’re unable to catch the show, here’s the lowdown:

If you can’t stand the heat, do like I did and get a new kitchen!

I

was ready to ditch the old, white, energy-guzzling appliances that came with my house, so I searched high and low for the latest and greatest energy efficient, stainless steel kitchen equipment, which I found in Frigidaire’s Professional Series. Though I was concerned about installing a kitchen full of fingerprint-revealing stainless steel appliances within the easy reach of my son (the dishwasher, his favorite, especially), the line’s EasyCare stainless steel finishes resists smudges and fingerprints and do not require special cleaning, which eased my fears.

Here’s what I selected:

Range and Microwave    After seeing “An Inconvenient Truth”,

I vowed to make all sorts of “green” changes to my life. After I learned that electric ranges use up to three times (!) as much energy as gas ones, I knew I needed to ditch my dinosaur of an electric stove for the the far more energy-efficient (and chef-friendly) Frigidaire Gas  Range

with Self-Clean Oven.

While I love that the stove will cut down on my energy usage, earning Al Gore’s (and Leonardo DiCaprio’s) approval, I can’t help but adore its super-cool features too. On the top of my list: the XtraZone Burner, an oval-shaped burner placed in the center of the cooktop, which features a removable griddle surface, allowing for more effective cooking of items like quesadillas and pancakes, her my son’s favorites. Equally cool are the Precision Set Surface Controls, which enable precise temperature control by way of digital feedback, and the Favorite & Keep Warm Settings, which offer the ability to program in time and temperature for a digital recall of frequently-used baking settings as well as a “Keep Warm” setting, which holds the oven temperature at 170 degrees, making it possible to keep food warm until guests arrive.

Because everything’s gotta match (and there were all sorts of gross tomato sauce stains inside my old microwave), I had the stainless steel Over-Range Microwave Oven installed above her new stove. The new model offers one-touch cooking and a super-defrost feature that gets the job done 50% faster.

Range and microwave before

The range and microwave retail for $1599 and 449, respectively. Visit frigidare.com for retail locations near you or lowes.com to purchase directly.

Refrigerator

My old fridge awkwardly stuck out way past my counters, so I replaced it with the Side-by-Side Counter Depth refrigerator. Though I was worried about losing storage space, I found the new model to be exceptionally roomy – in fact, it boasts glass shelves big enough to accommodate an 18-inch round party platter ready for guests. I’m loving its in-door water dispenser and ice maker, as well as its PureAir Filter, which uses naturally occurring minerals neutralize odors in the refrigerator…so breakfast doesn’t taste like last night’s dinner.

Old Fridge….

New Fridge (red fridge, blue fridge….)!

The fridge retails for $2399. Visit frigidare.com for retail locations near you or lowes.com to purchase directly.

Dishwasher

What’s worse than a washer that’s not only loud, but takes forever to do its thing? My old dishwasher was guilty of both, so I

upgraded to the SpeedClean Dishwasher with SaharaDry, which alleviated both problem issues.

The dishwasher retails for $749, visit frigidare.com for retail locations near you or lowes.com to purchase directly.

The final result:

Heres’ the “old” kitchen (or one wall of it).

Here’s that wall, all redone. Pretty snazzy, huh?

Want the chance to win a full Frigidaire kitchen suite from Lowe’s? Visit newkingofthekitchen.com (and check out some great recipes and entertaining tips from Food Network cutie Dave Lieberman while you’’re there!).

As I get ready for baby #2, I’m in the process of preparing to transition my son from his nursery environment into a real big-boy room, complete with big-boy bed.

Ideally, I’d like to have space for two to sleep in that room - if he and his sibling want to have a little sleepover, or if the cousins come over. My dilemma, therefore, is whether I should go the bunk bed route:

or the single bed with trundle route:

It seems everyone has an opinion on this issue. Little boys think bunk beds are cool, but I hear from a lot of moms that they’re kind of a pain in the ass, especially when it comes to making the beds (as they’re up against the wall, it’s tough to switch the sheets, etc.).

I’m interested in your thoughts, everyone. Any advice on this issue?