Spring Challenge!

My husband came up to me with a challenge the other day, that at first sounds really exciting, but is actually harder than it sounds. The Challenge: empty my closet of clothes and start over with new. Ahhh you mean get rid of stuff??? not so easy for me.

BUT it has started me thinking about other things around the house that I could do that for, things that really should be thrown out and bought new, Like DISH CLOTHS. I did that last year and can easily do that again. I mean think about it, who doesn’t have some dish cloths in the drawer that really should be thrown out?

It really doesn’t take much to freshen up the kitchen with some new cloths and maybe some matching tea towels or a pretty new apron. I know we’re just talking tea towels here, but having something new, even if it’s small, is a good way to perk up your day! After that you can take on the clothes closet! Good luck and keep smiling, Lianna

Free Lemon/Lime Savers

I have finally got these fantastic lemon/lime savers on our online store so I thought I’d tell you about them on our blog  too!

They are fantastic for keeping your lemons/limes from going off or for storing cut wedges where a. you’ll remember they are there and b. they won’t drip all over the rest of the stuff in your fridge.

We have more savers coming… can you guess which ones are next?  I will send a FREE lemon or lime saver to the first five people who comment. Cbreeze

Canmore Kitchen Boutique- Jane’s first blog

Hi from The Mountain Kitchen Store in Canmore, Alberta.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with us, we are a unique little kitchen store nestled in the foothills of the amazingly beautiful, and at this moment, snow covered Rocky Mountains…..so you can see why, in Canmore, we are known as The “Mountain Kitchen”. But, even so, we work closely with our larger sister store in Cochrane and, between the two of us, we are known as  Kitchen Boutique.

As Co-Manager of this delightful Aladdin’s Cave bursting with kitchen appliances, beautiful china and gadgets and gizmos to amaze and please the most fastidious of customers, it also falls to me to teach the Cake Decorating classes here in Canmore, a rewarding and most enjoyable experience for students and teacher alike as I am constantly amazed and delighted at the creative expertise my students display and the obvious pleasure they get out of the classes.

Now, as I brush the rose petals out of the window from my Valentine’s display I can reveal my Baking window, not only for adults but also for the blossoming cook in every family. There are cute aprons and chef’s hats and a great little baking set complete with cookie cutters and a rolling pin……perfect for little hands. And then there are our fabulous character cake pans….Care Bears, Dora, Tinkerbell, to name but a few…and even a cheeky monkey…perfect for the cheeky monkey in your family.
Until next time.
Happy Baking
Jane.

www.kitchenboutique.ca

Smart Sponge

These Smart Sponges are both hilarious to me… and actually a really good idea.  How many times have you cleaned your toilet and then a few days later forgot which sponge you used?  Well I have!  Even though cleaning is my husband’s department… the odd time will arise where I’ll feel the need to clean what has become of the loo and will look for the sponge/cleaning articles under the sink.  But how do I know which sponge is for the toilet and which for the sink?  Quite frankly I don’t… and for 95% of you out there… you know you are just like me and guess!  But hey, we don’t need to scare our guests away any longer… the smart sponge… our solution to the unknown!

Tchill Ice Bucket/Bag

Tchill Bag

We were super excited when we came across these Tchill Ice buckets that are in the shape of a bag!

They are so easy to use… just throw in your ice and bottle and away you go!  No dripping, convenient to carry and they can be used again and again.  I like them because they fold away flat for easy storage.

They are also stitched so they will remain upright if put down on  a flat surface, even with water/ice in them.

Available in three colours: clear, red and purple.

Let me know if you have seen anything better when it comes to summer fun entertaining ideas… and we’ll bring it in.  Cbreeze

Candy Flower Bouquet

We just got these new and very cool candy flower bouquets which will make a great add-on to any gift!  At $6 each, it is amazing that they look so real and what is even better is that you can eat them!  They have a hard shell outer coating in colour and a dark chocolate flavour on the inside.   Lianna and I discovered these at the gift show in January and thought “How yummy and cool is that?”  Hope you like them! Cbreeze

Hilarious Cocktail Napkins!

Ok some people, not naming any names, but that’s what they get for letting me order stuff, might think that I have gone a little overboard with the napkins we have in the store. We do have a lot I will admit it, but there are just soooo many good ones to chose from. My favorites, and the hardest to pick just a few, are the funny cocktail napkins.

Part of it is me, but the biggest part is watching the customers come up to the rack and just stand and laugh.  It is contagious!… and who doesn’t like a good laugh! I mean you can be just having a boring day, working away and a little group of friends walks in,  then you hear one person giggling.  Then it’s” come and see this”, then it’s, “no look at this one” ,”this is sooo Susan, I have to get this” “No, what about this one, it’s too good!”

Do you see what I am saying, people are laughing , having fun, now the staff are laughing, and the next people that walk in want to know what’s so funny, and on and on it  goes.  All because I may have gotten a Little carried away with the napkins.

Keep smiling everyone, or just laugh out loud if you like, it’s fun!

Lianna

Flip Flop Mats… must be summer soon!!!

I know it’s close because we have started receiving summery things in the store. It’s so nice to have some flowers and bright colors around.

One of the new items that’s  on the way are these great summer mats, made out of everyone’s favorite footwear, FLIP FLOPS. These mats are made from scrap flip flop foam. They are handcrafted in the Philippines and very unique. How fun is that??
Bring on those lazy summertime days!
Lianna

Gourmet foods make me hungry!

I know the world is hoping for snow and cold out in Vancouver this week, but I would really like summer to hurry up and show up.  The cold weather has been keeping people in the house and so the store has been a little quiet the last couple of days. The only thing about that is that we get some much needed paperwork and ordering done.

Yesterday I pulled out all the catalogs for the gourmet food we carry. This includes Wildly Delicious, Garlic Box, Perth and Pestle, and Orange Crate, to name a few. Ok I have to tell you after a couple of hours of that I WAS HUNGRY! We are going to have some tasty things coming in to the shop soon, Get Ready! Oh and let’s not forget all the beverages, but we will save that for another day.
Keep smiling! Lianna

Superbowl cake

Awhile ago Claire and I took the wilton cake decorating classes so we could better help customers with thier cake decorating questions. Now my friends think I should make more cakes. Well this is the one I made for yesterdays Super Bowl game.

The store in Cochrane has a lot of different shaped pans and we rent quite a few too, so if you need to empress you friends come on down and pick one up. The sandwiches were made using a football shaped cookie cutter. It really doesn’t take much to make food fun!
Keep smiling, Lianna

Changes are Happening

Good morning!

The Cochrane store is changing around again! For all our regular customers you will know we do that often.  Nothing too major, just making space for the new and cleaning out the old.

Yesterday, Sandy and I, moved the cleaning section to the thermometer/fish section and the thermometer/fish section over to the ever changing, ever evolving, gadget wall. I do have to tell you that our gadget wall is packed.  Customers just stand there and stare at it, trying to take it all in.
Now we have space near the back where the cleaning section was, to expand the sale section. So, if you are in the store looking for something, don’t worry if you can’t find it, someone will help you,(as soon as they remember where we put it themselves).

What will today bring??
Keep Smiling, Lianna
Ps. Sorry folks there will be no blog tomorrow as it is Super Bowl Sunday and I have create a football cake and little football sandwiches for the party. Go Gold Team, Go!

Our World Famous Bestseller

Hello, I have been told to have a successful blog you have to add to it everyday. So what does one write about everyday?

Well today I am going to tell you about our biggest selling item in the store. If you have been in the store you already know what it is. People come from miles around just to buy one or more, they mail it to family and friends, and then get told to send more. We have people bring their visitors in and tell them they have to have them, and heaven forbid we ever run out of them!

I am of course talking about the world’s finest Potscrubber! For those of you who have not tried it ,(don’t know who that would be) it really, really is the best scrubber thing you could have. It can be used on anything: nonstick pans, countertops, glass stove tops and much more. It is awesome in the bathroom, on tubs, sinks and showers.

I have used it on my car to get bugs off… it is great for cleaning fruit,(not the same one of course, you have to have a few)… we even had one lady say she used them on her feet!

Anyway, they are sitting right on the front counter, they cost $3 and I suggest getting a couple, cus you will want them.
Keep Smiling! Lianna

Ps, this is a picture of mine at home, a little used but very loved.

Lianna’s first Blog

Hello everyone and welcome to my very first blog!

I am going to attempt to inform, amuse, and keep you up to date on all the fantastic things that go on at the greatest Kitchen Store around, Kitchen Boutique! ( Formaly known as Pot’s n’ Peppers and The Colourful Cook - and how I still keep answering the phone, cus I can’t remember to say the new name).

Anyway, my name is Lianna and I have worked here for just over 5 years. I am one of the managers here at the Cochrane location and I also get to help with a lot of the buying, which means I get to shop at work, fun huh.

That being said, Claire and I just got back from a whirlwind trip to Toronto for the CGTA show (huge kitchen and gift show.) Great success, I think we picked up about 13 new companys… soooo that means tons’o good stuff coming in to the store for your buying pleasure. I will be giving you some sneek peeks as soon as I remember what they all are. I do know we have something for everyone and some really tasty things too.

So I don’t want to rattle on too much in the first day but i will leave you all with this tip: Shape up shoes from Sketchers!  For power-walking through a convention or for just standing on your feet all day, THE BEST SHOES EVER!

Trust me. TTYL Lianna

Wilton Cake Decorating

Kitchen Boutique Wilton Cake Decorating  Classes have begun!

Our favorite cake decorating company Wilton,  has been our top choice and  the industry leader in cake decorating. We hosted our 2010 classes in both the Canmore and Cochrane locations at Kitchen Boutique this week.

The first class is always just like the first day of school … tense, quirky, and a little bit nervous. After introductions were made, things settled down to an interesting education on torting, leveling, and icing a cake.  The students seemed to be eager to learn and share in the fun.

Next week the students will be able to share their delicious results with family and friends as they learn how to do a rainbow pattern transfer, star border and printing with piping gel!

Here are some shots from today’s class