Today seems like a great day for a long-weekend picnic in Kananaskis Country – we’ve got a ton of really great picnic items… they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes…
and we even have some really great picnic blankets…
These picnic blankets have a water-resistant PEVA side to put down on top of wet grass and a fuzzy/cuddly side to stay warm and dry on. They fold nicely into an easy-to-carry tote. With a variety of colour/pattern options they make for a great gift. I love them personally to take to the kid’s soccer practice or for simply sitting out on the lawn.
Also check out this fab Party Cooler with Umbrella stand…
It is so nice to have spring/summer arriving… I hope the weather continues – knock on wood!
We have just received our Wellnessmats order in and we have a great selection!
These are absolutely the best anti-fatigue mat around. They boast a 7 year warranty plus the following:
Unmatched comfort
Premium 3/4″ thick
Edges will never curl
No-trip 20° beveled edge
Anti-microbial (by design)
Puncture & heat resistant
Stain & dirt resistant
Easy to clean
Safe & non-toxic (PVC-Free)
They feel heavenly on your legs after a long day of standing around. We can all attest to their fabulous performance as we have one behind the counter at each store.
They are available in 5 colours: black, grey, burgundy, brown and tan.
They are available in 3 motifs: Bella (as pictured above), Trellis (below left) and in just solid (bottom centre).
In the store – we carry the 3’x2′ size, but they can be ordered in a variety of shapes and sizes.
The 3’x2′ are $140 and are available in-store.
The 6’x2′ are $280 (approximately – depending on US exchange rates) and can be special ordered in.
Wellnessmats have just launched a new innovative product – mat covers that come in a multitude of designs and colours that fit snuggly over your mats – so you can dress ’em up or dress ’em down – depending on the season.
For the first 6 customers – we will be giving away a new mat cover – a gift with purchase to try out!
If you’ve been thinking about getting a new mat and are ready to splurge out on the best one out there – this is the best time to do it! Cbreeze
Lampe Berger is the most amazing line in the store right now. If you are looking for a unique and exquisite gift for someone who has everything – this is it.
Kills 67% of Air-born bacteria – which means these are positively fantastic for destroying the bacteria that is passed around during cold/flu season. They are also useful to get rid of cooking, smoking and pet odours!
Made by renowned designers
Looks beautiful on a mantel piece as a piece of art/decor when not in use.
Simple to use
Starter Sets are available from $40 which include a small bottle of neutral.
The Mastrad Apple Cooker is a great new gadgety thing that we have in-store… I tried it out over the weekend and love it!
Simply core and cut your apples in half, sprinkle some lemon juice and a little bit of brown sugar on top, microwave for 2 minutes – and VOILA! you have a delicious cooked apple dessert… serve with vanilla ice cream and it is simply delicious:) Not a fan of the microwave? The two cookers are silicone and heat resistant up to 480 degrees F, it takes a bit longer, but warm up your oven and cook your apples in there.
Thanks to its ideal size, you can bake all types of fruits: apples, pears, peaches, berries. Whole or sliced, garnished or lightly sugared, fruits or vegetables – with the lid on – the food cooks in the steam issued from its own juice. As a result, it does not dry out and retains its flavour.
Each set includes: 2 Apple Cookers and 1 Corer. Dishwasher safe.
Although it comes with an apple corer, I don’t love it… I prefer to use the stronger, more practical apple corer from OXO Good Grips.
Although a little late for the start of school, the Klip It Sistema line is a great line for both kids and adults alike! Made in New Zealand and featuring a number of sizes and colours, the line has everything from a sandwich container to a soup and salad container. All BPA Free plastic and made from lead free virgin materials. If you are still trying to find something for school that works well for your kids, or if you are looking for something for yourself to take to work for lunch… these are a great product!
Chef ‘n has developed this super cute Stem Gem – Strawberry Stem remover which works really well getting those super annoying stems out of strawberries.
Although it came out last year, this is the first time we have featured them in the store because of their overwhelming popularity across Canada.
A great new little gadget which, if you love strawberries as much as me… is a super tool to add to your collection!
This handy Pig Tail Food Flipper is going to be a must for all Father’s Day gifts this year!
It is the handy-est cooking tool you’ll ever own… as I have done for the last year since I picked one up at the Calgary Stampede and just LOVED it.
It is great for turning, flipping and carrying food easily in the kitchen or on the grill. We love using ours and have found that it saves always getting out your tongs, forks or spatulas and works more efficiently because of the dexterty it offers you when handling food.
Buy it for Dad, Hubby or brother – t’will not disappoint.
We’ve just received new COLOURFUL Bodum Electricals in-store and they look great! New coffee grinders, toasters, kettles, hand mixers, juicers and travel mugs and presses in red, orange and lime green.
A bright, cheerful pressie for mom… or a splash of colour for your own kitchen!
Madeline Butter, Chardonnay Chocolate, and Rosehip Paisley Ecru
Come in soon for the best selection of our Spring Table Linens. From April Cornell to Danica Now Designs, Mera and Texstyles Deco we have everything from cotton to polyester and from napkins, tablecloths and placemats to table runners.
We also have a number of really cute Easter table runners that are perfect for that special Sunday meal!
And who doesn’t want to kick winter in the pants by freshing up all of your old tea towels and dish cloths? Check out our new spring selections!
A new tool from Chef ‘n is their Bananza Banana Slicer which we just recently got into the store. I got to try it out at the CGTA gift show in Toronto and it works so well that I’m going to take one home for my kids.
My daughter is in grade one now and has become quite independent in the kitchen with making her own breakfast and helping to make and pack her lunch. To ensure that this habit continues… I’m going to take the bananza home to her and get her to try it out. I think adding banana onto her cereal in the morning, or for putting in her lunch sliced up, will empower her to eat more bananas… the one thing that seems to come back at the end of the day:)
I won’t mention at this point how hilarious and slightly guillotine-esque this appears when you see it work from the side, but dispite looks, functions very well. So other than function, it will make a great gag gift for any bachelorette party this summer!
The Wild Hibiscus Flowers in syrup are a new product that just came into the store this week… just a little too late for Valentines Day, but I had to feature it as it is so cool!
You can use the Hibiscus flowers to garnish any appetizer or feature it with goat cheese as I did and it is so tasty! It also goes really well in salads, desserts and most especially… in cocktails. The recipe below features champagne and would make a nice Anniversary toast, a Honeymoon toast or a Wedding toast!
Available in a jar of 11 flowers for $12.00Cdn or 50 flowers for $48.00Cdn.
Cheers!
Wild Hibiscus Royale
This drink was first served at the legendary Dorchestor Hotel, London in 2006; a Swanky hang out for the rich & famous where it remains the most popular Champagne cocktail on the menu.
Wild Hibiscus Flower Garnish
¼ oz natural rose water
2/3 oz Wild Hibiscus Syrup
Mint
Champagne
Muddle mint in the champagne flute & discard (squash some leaves around inside the glass)
Place Wild Hibiscus Flower in bottom of glass & stand upright
Add rose water & some bruised torn mint pieces
Top with Champagne
Lastly, pour in the Hibiscus syrup which will graduate from crimson at the bottom to light pink at the top
Tip:pour syrup in first for a layered effect
The flower will sit in the bottom of the champagne flute and slowly open up over 3-4 minutes.
Decadent, divine & oh so classy, a new classic is born!
Our Gingerbread House Competition that took place last Saturday was fantastic! I could not believe the quality and the detail that so many of our competitors put into their houses! Well done everyone!!! We had 13 entries and we gave out prizes for the first($500 Gift Certificate), second ($250 Gift Certificate) and the third ($100 Gift Certificate) place winners…
First Place Winner: Carey Thomson – “Cat in the Gingerbread Hat”
Second Place Winner: Amy Gaudet – “Mansion with the Green Roof”
Third Place Winner: Paige Korstrom – “Chateau de Paige”
We recently got in boxes and boxes of Brie Bakers… and I have to tell you… these are the hottest gift!
Place brie wheel inside the baker… put into oven at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes and voila! Baked Brie.
Add chutney or, as I did over Thanksgiving… add Brie Brulee topping and ohmygoodness! Yummy!
The Brie Brulee topping we tried out was the Honey Orange… you sprinkle it on top the brie, before you put it in the oven and it carmalizes while the brie is cooking… when the brie is finished… you can nip it under the grill for a few minutes or use a torch and just “finish-off” the carmalizing brie brulee.
I couldn’t believe how delicious this tasted… I’m never going to get into my skinny pants now!
Available in red, cream, cassis (eggplant), rosemary (green).
Available in two sizes: Single Brie Wheel $19 or Party Wheel $30
The Goodbyn is a better lunchbox reinvented for kids, parents, and our planet!
Eliminates the need for wasteful plastic bags and drink boxes
Features: Easy to open ears, built-in handle to carry box, top, bottom, and side containers, 8.5 ounce re-usable drink bottle, and sticker set to customize your lunchbox.
Lunchbox is 100% recyclable
Dishwasher safe
Free of BPA, phthalates, and lead
Made in USA
Original Goodbyn available in Blue, Pink, Red, and Green. For ages 5-9 years. Includes fun ears on the lunchbox.
NEW!Too Cool for Ears Goodbyn available in ghost, slate, charcoal, and plum. For ages 10+ years.
Send your kids back to school with an eco-friendly sandwich guard; think of the all the plastic sandwich bags you can save, and your child can choose from an assortment of cool colours.
Additionally, the s’wich guard is easy to open, and is dishwasher safe. Need I say more?!?!?!
You can even go a step further and cut their sandwich into cool shapes – like giant puzzle pieces, butterflies, elephants, dolphins, or puppies. Or better yet, your child can cut out their own sandwich, since the lunch punch sets are child friendly.
Conveniently, the lunch punch sets can be used on a number of other items; such as, playdough, cheese, cookies, etc.
We have these great little Eco Bags with Canada Flags on them… if you come by the store in Canmore on Canada Day from 1-6pm (after the parade) and mention that you checked out our blog… you can have one for FREE! WOOT! WOOT!
Store Hours Today: 1pm-6pm in Canmore and 12pm-5pm in Cochrane.
Mmmmmmm! Okay, so if you have been hunting for some yummy treats because you’ve just found out that you are either celiac or have a gluten intolerance… hunt no more.
These crunches, available in either hazelnut, dark chocolate or maple flavor are TO DIE FOR!
My sister, who is a celiac and I, who has a gluten intolerance, are always on the hunt for tasty gluten-free food products…when we were introduced to these awhile back, our only problem with the product was keeping the “tasting samples” away from my desk and off our hips! But, ohhhh, they are good!
There are a lot of great new gluten-free options that we’ll be adding to our stock and to our blog so keep a look out in the future. Our g-f radars are tuned in!
If you live in the Cochrane area… check out GF (Gluten-Free) Patisserie… located on 3rd Avenue in a cute little white ‘n blue house… open Wed-Saturday from 10-5pm… please don’t buy up all of her callebaut brownies… those are my favorites!
We got these fabulous dancing flowers in new last week and everyone is CRAZY about them! Due to their instant popularity, we’ve decided to feature them here for our blog readers… in case you’ve missed them in-store!
What a great gift idea for mom, grandma or a close friend! What is really super about them is that they won’t die out on you if you have a black thumb (like me). They can travel easily and lightly if you are looking for a nice gift to take overseas… which is in fact what I’ll be doing next week – taking one of these for my fabulous mother-in-law who lives in England!
Happy Earth Day! I’m very excited that we got these new Preserve products – just in time to celebrate Earth Day in the store.
Preserve products are:
*Made from 100% recycled materials
*Made in the USA
*Can be recycled at any #5 plastic recycle facility or returned to Preserve for recycling.
*BPA free
*Dishwasher friendly.
* Available in three colours: green, red and blue.
*Available as outdoor patio dinnerware (plates, bowls, cups, cutlery), storage containers, colanders, mixing bowl sets and measuring cup sets.
I’m a huge fan of leaving a better world to my three kids and believe that bringing in products of this nature will help ensure that. I hope you like ’em and I hope you buy ’em so I can bring in more!!!
Happy Recycling!
Earth note: Kitchen Boutique is a FIERCE recycler (we have one of the best recycling facilities here in Cochrane, Alberta – WOOT! WOOT! and we make ridiculous use of it) and we promote products that are going to last you a long time (less crap that falls apart that’s going into the landfills), so please don’t bulk at some of our prices, just know that we are on Earth’s side and doing everything possible in our business to ensure that our presence is a very small impact on the environment. Cbreeze.
“Grey skies are going to clear up ,
Put on a Happy Face,
Brush of the clouds and cheer up,
Put on a Happy Face.
Wipe off that ‘full of doubt look,’
slap on a Happy grin,
and spread sunshine all over the place,
and put on a Happy Face!!
Doesn’t this cute little teapot just make you want to smile and sing! What a great way to start your day.
Have a good one everyone, Lianna
Well now you can get one for your home! These funky and very modern automatic soap pumps are a welcomed addition to any bathroom. Features of this handy pump include:
1. Touch-free operation Dispenses soap automatically through a touch-free sensor.
2. Built-in light timer Optional light timer blinks for 20 seconds for germ-free hands
3. Continuous dispensing button Hold down the continuous dispensing button to manually dispense soap directly on items.
4. Easy to refill Large, easy to refill opening
5. Four volume settings Allows you to dispense larger or smaller amounts of soap.
6.Battery-operatedOperates on 4 “AA” batteries
I myself love to be squeaky clean and always look at my bar of soap and think it’s a bit dirty. I think this will encourage everyone in my house to wash their hands more. I can see this really benefiting us and our guests around flu season. I can’t wait to try it out! I’m so happy a company has come out with such a great product. (Retails for $52.00 Cdn)
Do YoU think there’s any other products out there that should be automated like the soap dispenser? Let us know in the comments below and we will see if we can get it into our shop.
Check out the video here for a look at the Sensor Soap Pump in action.
We just got our Cadbury shipment in and it is making me hungry for Easter! These cool fondues are a great treat for that special Cadbury lover in your family… we also carry the fondue fillers in both the Caramilk and Creme Egg to add to this perfect gift! Click on the pics to link to our online store where you can buy these!!!
Do you know how they get the Caramilk inside a Caramilk bar? Comment and let us know… because we don’t know and we would really like to know!
Have a wonderful Easter Holiday Weekend… and remember to join us in Cochrane from 1-3pm to see the Easter Bunny hiding chocolate eggs around the store! Cbreeze
Have you ever found yourself flustered and perhaps a little overwhelmed when friends come over for dinner? Even if you’re looking forward to the event do you still feel your stress levels rising? If so, then I may just have the answer for you.
Have you ever considered a raclette party? Raclette party-givers everywhere will now be nodding their heads in agreement. A raclette is a small tabletop grill that you place in the middle of your table where everyone can cook their own food at their own pace and a relaxed and fun time can be had by all. How great is that!
After recently being invited to a friend’s home for just such a party I can wholeheartedly contest that these kind of dinners are a lot of fun and can be as elaborate or informal as you wish.
So, how does it work?
Well, as many as 8 people can sit round to a raclette. The perfect size for a dinner party! All the food can be pre-prepared – oh joy! Don’t you love this idea already? AND as the party-giver all you have to do is dress your table in your prettiest linens, top with some eye-catching china, add sparkling glassware, chill the wine and plug in your raclette grill. So easy!
Okay, what about the food I hear you say!
Prepare tiny potatoes and small pieces of stir fry vegetables then cook the potatoes just before you need them so you serve them warm, (microwaves are great for this). Blanch the vegetables – sugar snap peas, bright coloured peppers etc are just great for this.
Cut any kind of meats into small, thin pieces for ease of cooking and pair with slices of sausage and seafood – this kind of meal is only limited by your imagination!
All you have to do is arrange your edibles into attractive dishes and assign them to your guests, (couples are easier as they can share).
Don’t forget a dish of grated cheese for everyone which your guests will pile into their paddle that sits under the grill. As it melts to perfection they pour the cheese on to the potatoes and vegetables – absolutely delicious!!
You’ll find that giving a raclette party is such a breeze you’ll possibly have left more than enough time to conjure up a spectacular dessert! My clever friend had baked a chocolate cake, topped it with cherries and a fabulous glaze then popped it into the fridge where it sat until the appropriate moment when she produced it in fine style, only needing to add a flourish of whipped cream. Fabulous.
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
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!
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
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
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!
they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes…
and we even have some really great picnic blankets…
These picnic blankets have a water-resistant PEVA side to put down on top of wet grass and a fuzzy/cuddly side to stay warm and dry on. They fold nicely into an easy-to-carry tote. With a variety of colour/pattern options they make for a great gift. I love them personally to take to the kid’s soccer practice or for simply sitting out on the lawn.
It is so nice to have spring/summer arriving… I hope the weather continues – knock on wood!
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Kitchen Boutique 
