Alright ladies and gents. Here is my very first review. Ever. I'm a little giddy about it, mainly because it was such a positive experience for me. :) {Thank the stars! I would have hated to write a negative review!}

I did a giveaway from csnstores.com a little while ago, and I was completely impressed with the way they handled things. Very respectful and informative. So when I was asked if I would like to do a review, I jumped on that bandwagon faster than you could say "I need another cake stand!".

And that's what I chose.

This beauty:

*sigh*

No, that is not your imagination. Angels really are singing...

You can find this platter of pedestaled perfection here.

My cake stand arrived via UPS, and was packed well- a styrofoam mold. Which I was grateful for. I hate it when there are a googolplex packing peanuts, which to children, mean Happiest Day Ever. To me, it means Messiest Day Ever. Not a fan of cleaning up a mass of static cling snow.

This cakestand is solid. And as I was inspecting (and wiping drool from the corners of my mouth), I noticed something on the bottom that made my heart skip a beat:

Dishwasher AND Microwave safe.

I know it seems a little ridiculous that I would get excited over such simple words, but let me tell you- if I see something that says NOT dishwasher or microwave safe, it boils my blood. This is 2010 people!! It's not like dishwashers and microwaves are for the richest of the rich, or only available to those in certain upstanding and wealthy circles, or on the black market- they are pretty much standard in a home. And have been for quite.some.time.

{coming back from tangent}

Not that it wouldn't be so easy just to wipe this cake stand down with a rag, and I have no idea why I would need to place it in a microwave, but just the knowledge that I CAN makes sunshine and rainbows in my heart.

And since this is a review, I DID put it in the dishwasher.

I think it sparkles.

{Oh, the magic...}

My daughter turned 4 last weekend, so it was a perfect time to use this snow white beauty. I frosted the cake on it, wiped off the excess frosting from the plate with ease, and even sawed down on it with my knife when cutting the cake.

NO scratches.

This thing is GOLDEN. You should get one.

CsnStores.com has a million bajillion products to choose from. It took me over a week to decide what to review. The selection is amazing. If you haven't browsed yet, take at LEAST 5 hours out of your day and go to online shopper heaven.

Checkout is easy, and they have an amazing feature where you can let them know if you saw that certain product for less, somewhere else. After reviewing your submission, they will then email you back with a code that will let you purchase said product for cheaper. Like that day.

I must say that I am a huge fan now, and I look forward to working with them again in the future!

xoxo

jordan

{ps, the giveaway that was supposed to go along with this post didn't work out like I had hoped, but I do have another one coming up soon!}

So I have this small little closet in my kitchen. It isn't a proper pantry, but we'll call it that anyway. It was stuffed to the max with the normal things one finds in a pantry: cereal bags, canned foods, boxes of Mac & Cheese {of the Kraft persuasion}, bags of baking necessities {i.e. flour, sugar, etc.}, oil, syrup, oatmeal, rice, peanut butter, cake mixes, popcorn, paper goods, etc.

I always dreaded opening that small door. The inside never seemed to please me. I never did delight in the 'hunt' that I was about to embark on.

Here was my problem: I had a square closet with lots of round stuff.

I needed all that stuff to be square. I heard somewhere that it is 'hip' to be so... ;)

Here's my other problem: I didn't want to spend the bazillion dollars those square canisters and organizers cost.

Have you seen these? They are about $3.00 at Walmart. They hold approx. 16 cups, and Don't have handles {those one's cost more- even the smaller ones}.

I have bought 10 over the past year. And they have made me happy. But being the label obsessed conscious-minded person that I am, I took these plastic gems a step further.

Enter Stampin' Up paraphernalia:

I used a large stamp set and the permanent ink pad and stamped labels on the sides of my containers.

After purging the unnecessary crap and some 8 year old food items {do pinto beans even last that long in bag form?}, I dumped my bagged items in the containers and created a much more flowing {and surprisingly empty} pantry. I'm sure I will change it over the next couple years, but for now, it is sooo much better and easier to find things. Here are the shelves individually:

And the whole thing:

I must admit that I have a 'food storage' place under my stairs that houses all the extra cans, 50 million boxes of Mac & Cheese, massive bags of rice, extra toothpaste/cleaner/deodorant items, etc. so I have the luxury of only housing items I use on a mostly regular basis in my kitchen. {But I won't show you the food storage area yet, because it, too, needs a major make-over}

I feel a little less frazzled when it comes to making breakfast/lunch/dinner now. I can see exactly what I have, and know exactly when I need to stock up {like on flour} so I'm not in the middle of making something and have to drop everything, or have Mr. Smith run to the store so I can finish making cookies for the children in my church.

Not that that has ever happened before...

Someday my pantry will be eye candy and functional with beautiful matchy baskets, and rows of lovely glass jars, and be larger than a doll closet:

*swoon*

But for now, this works. It's not really pretty, but it's a great place to start 'the process of evolving into that Perfect Pantry' from.

So for today,

xoxo

jordan

ps- do you have an awesome room, closet, or organizing system that works wonders for you? I would love to hear about it! Email me the details at jordanriverblossom@yahoo.com and I'll share your inspiration with The World. Or at least with those who read this blog. ;)

I'm still laughing. At Cam's daughter's comment. Hilarious. Check out what she said at mmu.

It's times like this that I am grateful my 7 year old is in Speech Therapy...

And guess what is coming today!!

A certain package from here.

I keep checking the UPS web site, like it will magically show me a map with a blinking dot following the truck that holds my precious cargo...

...but it doesn't.

'cuz Halloween time is almost here.

xoxo

jordan

xoxo

jordan