Now, I have bread everywhere, in different stages, all over the kitchen, and it seems, I need some extra flat area.  Just a little.  Like the little I’d get from a handy rolly cart like this one.

The perfect size, small enough not to cramp your kitchen, but large enough to have some actual useful space.  When you’re done with your holiday baking, use it in the pantry, laundry room or office.

What a versatile piece of furniture!

Gourmet 1 Tier Steel Cart – $80

I know I am.

My kids take their lunch to school every day because the thought of the school cafeteria is more than my gag reflex can handle disgusting.

To me.

They’d be perfectly fine eating chicken parts pressed together by heavy machinery and french fries every day.

The result?  We use a lot of plastic sandwich bags, and although we try to pack carrots and cucumbers in small reusable plastic containers, sometimes a bag just fits in the lunchbox better.

The solution is right here.  Reusable, washable, fabric sandwich and snack bags.  Velcro closure.  Adorable.  Great for picnics too!

Reusable Fabric Sandwich / Snack Bags, Set of 3 – $18

And jello with fruit for dessert.

I’ve never understood the jello with fruit.  So many questions come to mind, the first being: Who ever thought this was a good idea? Lime jello with canned pears does not a dessert make.

Not even close.

This adorable personalized cake pan would not work at all for lime jello with canned pears, because it’s far too cute and modern for a wanna-be dessert like that.  This pan would reject lime jello with pears.  This pan would violently buck and bend and hurl out the lime jello with pears, right onto the greasy linoleum floor.

Chocolate sheet cake, however, perhaps like this one, thick with butter cream icing, would make this pan proud.

What?  The pan?  You want to know about the pan?  Yes. OK.  On it.

I first saw this cake pan right over here at PW’s site, and since they’re so perfect for the holidays and other gatherings, I thought you’d need to know about them.  These personalized cake pans / lids are high-quality Nordic Ware, the kind you already know and love because they bake so perfectly, so evenly, that you cannot screw up what goes in.  Works fantastically for all sorts of dishes, from lasagna to apple cobbler.

But here’s the cool part:  Mary Alice, the awesome lady over at TheCakePanLady.com custom engraves these pans with your choice of 50+ really cute designs as well as your name.  Your NAME!  That means the next time you take a cake to the school for Teacher Appreciation, you get your pan back because no one, not even the PTA President, would dare hoist a pan with someone else’s name engraved on it.

I’m getting my Dad one of these for Christmas (Merry Christmas, Dad!), because although Mom & Dad’s gang looks to be mild-mannered and honest, you can never really trust someone with blue hair.  Plus, if my Dad, in his jello-induced haze, forgets to take home his cake pan, someone can always return it to him later… it’s got his name written all over it.

Check out the huge variety of designs right here.  Pans available in 5 colors and 2 sizes.  Order one for your mom and sister while you’re at it.  I’m partial to the dragonfly, but also pretty fond of the pineapple and the rooster.  In case you were wondering.

Custom-Engraved Cake Pan w/ Lid – starting at $31 from thecakepanlady.com

I fall into the “I can bake but not decorate” category, so any help I can get to pretty up my f-ugly creations, like a beautiful revolving cupcake stand, is much appreciated.

This one revolves, but manually, although my guys want to hook up a “very small motor that won’t go too fast, Mom, we promise” to make it revolve automatically.  Don’t really want to clean icing off the cabinets, but I applaud their creativity.

Godinger Revolving Cupcake Stand – $30

In one hand, you have a lovely glass of wine, hovering precariously over your hostess’ carpet.  With the other hand, you are trying to gather tasty morsels.

I’ve never figured out how to eat from a plate while holding it, except to lower my face inches from the top of the plate and pluck an appetizer, hopefully bited-sized, with my tongue.

Don’t you want to party with me now?  I’m the epitome of grace and manners.

Enter the Wine and Dine Tray, an ingenious way to allow your guests to eat, drink and be merry, all at the same time.  This bamboo tray has a shallow dip to hold food in, so it doesn’t flip right off there and a glass holder cut-out that will accomodate a standard wine glass.  Perfect for all your holiday gatherings, especially if your friends are known to drop stuff on your floor.

Wine and Dine Tray – $11

River Stones Platter at MOMA – $150

These are small (5″ *5″ * 5″) – they don’t call them petite for no reason – and so precious.  I’d love a whole row of them lined up in my kitchen. Can you imagine individual servings of blueberry crisp or blueberry bread pudding in these little darlings?

I can.

Non-porous construction resists odor-absorption, chipping, cracking, and staining.  All good stuff. Safe in freezer, microwave, and dishwasher; oven-safe to 400 degrees F. Great gift for cooks!

Le Creuset Petite Stoneware Casserole – $30

So long refreshingly crisp salad… hello warm hearty soup.

That’s right.  It’s called the power of positive thinking and I’m practicing it right now.  I want to eat onion soup out of these here Lion’s Head Bowls, because the bowls are way cool and the thought of French Onion Soup, with the cheese all melted in the oven and the onions… oh!  So good.

Coming soon.  I swear.

Oh.  The bowls?  White porcelain, 16 ounces, dishwasher-, oven- and microwave-safe.

Lion’s Head Soup Bowls, Set of 4 – $30

I found one in the boy’s closet, God only knows why it was in there. Some things a mother just doesn’t want to know. But the remainder are as good as gone. Like Andy Dufresne in Shawshank Redemption, they have simply vanished.

It’s OK though. I used the mysterious disappearance as an excuse to buy these plastic tumblers, in all 16 colors, and I feel my day brightening already. Made from durable, break-resistant, BPA-free plastic, I think these are a great fit for our family of boys that drop things frequently. The boys will be using these… until they steal them for whatever science experiment is going on in that closet.  It is a harmless science experiment, right?

Colorware Plastic Tumbers – $3.50 each

Crafted by pouring a secret melted metal alloy into a hand-made sand cast and then polishing the daylights out of it, by hand, mind you, until it nearly blinds you with it’s shine.
The set features a metal dip bowl for holding a favorite salsa or your favorite dip, and a wooden tray to fill with the chip of your choice.  Personally, I’d go with tortilla chips. The tray is made of acacia, a very durable, yet lightweight wood with a  stripey grain. Like a tiger.  All the Nambé metals pieces have amazing heat and cold retention, and can be baked in or frozen to keep your dip at the appropriate temperature.  Way cool, huh? No other serving piece has as much versatility as  the metal Nambé pieces.  Not dishwasher or microwave safe, but the metal will not tarnish or crack… ever, and it cleans up easily with soap and water.  Fantastic as a hostess gift or for your favorite cook.

Nambé Chip & Dip – $150