After years of people pining for all-white kitchens, with marble countertops and gleaming subway tile, the pendulum of trends is swinging toward a darker, edgier look: matte black everything. The light-absorbing look gained momentum last spring, when KitchenAid introduced its limited-edition Black Tie stand mixer, prompting the brand to release even more products in the shade and finish. It's up to 54 now.
The look spread to other accessories, evidenced in Chip and Joanna Gaines's latest line for Target: a modern farmhouse collection complete with matte black cutlery, measuring spoons, and measuring cups.
Out of all of the appliances though, the fridge is the most impressive. It features "Door-In-Door Technology," which is a magnetically sealed clear door behind the matte black one. That way you can see at a glance what's in the fridge — and grab a snack — without opening the entire fridge and letting the cold air out. So your mom can't yell at you for lingering as you debate your next snack anymore.
Warning: It'll also tattle on you, sending an alert to app users' phones if you leave the fridge door open. To avoid public shaming, please see previous ooh-and-aah-inducing feature.
The matte black line is hitting Lowe's and Home Depot stores now, and you can also find it at these stores.
If you have ventured into the toddler world over the last decade or so, you have no doubt stepped upon, or even sat upon, your fair share of golden ill-shapen puffballs. These would be called Pirate's Booty and they are enormously popular with the under ten crowd, as there seem to be some children who subsist off nothing but Pirate's Booty. Maybe it is the name, or the one-eyed pirate daring you to open a bag and indulge, but children love this stuff like ants love piles of white sugar. They ask for it by name and consume it with relish (that is relish as in pleasure, not relish the condiment).
Another aspect of Pirate's Booty that makes it so enduringly popular is the claim that it is not junk food. According to the Pirate's Booty website, this ubiquitous snack was created to counter all of the unseemly cheese puff and salty snack options for children with something a bit more wholesome and natural. With air-puffed rice and corn as its main components, Pirate's Booty is essentially a light puffed snack with seasoning or flavoring thrown on for good measure. It is arguable that it is the seasoning/flavoring which makes it so addictive to kids, and the puffed rice and corn component that makes it a relative no guilt/no-brainer snack for beleaguered parents.
However, I just don't get it. This is not to say that Pirate's Booty is bad or even tastes bad, on the contrary I kind of understand its broad habit-forming appeal. Upon sampling the two newest Pirate's Booty flavors (Bermuda Onion and Salt & Vinegar) I am left wondering how these little nuggets of puffed corn and rice, that could easily be mistaken for packing peanuts, have had such lasting appeal with children and the parents who seem to buy the bags in bulk. Compared to Cheetos and the like, they are relatively healthy as they are baked (not fried) and seemingly free of saturated fats, trans fats, as well as lots of artificial or unnecessary preservatives. They don't turn your fingers orange or leave a cement-like paste on your tongue, and they are seasoned with things like garlic powder, organic turmeric and natural flavors. But are they really healthy?
With 130 calories, 145 grams of sodium and 5 grams of fat per bag (these are the stats for the Bermuda Onion variety, but the Salt & Vinegar is not much different) and zero protein, fiber, or vitamins – they hardly seem to qualify as healthy. But if your kid is inclined to gorge him/herself on all manner of junk food, this is assuredly the lesser of two snack food evils.
Pirate's Booty Bermuda Onion and Salt & Vinegar are available in 1-ounce and 3-ounce bags and are sold at Wild Oats, Albertsons, QFC, and Stop & Shop.
How we feel about ourselves actually attracts the attributes we find in others around us. You already know that children seem to behave differently depending on who they are with. You probably have noticed this with some adults as well, possibly yourself. In fact when you are truly authentic you will come to realize that your personality is not set in stone but a fluid and beautiful dance with others.
The trick is to do the dance you want. It doesn’t mean you are the same with every single person but enjoy all the aspects of who you are with others who will complement those aspects.
When you remember how amazing and magnificent and powerful and unlimited you truly are you must also remember that about others no matter where they are in their journey of discovery.
This puts you in the powerful place of only attracting the best of each person that enters your experience. You come to find even the most “difficult” person is not difficult in your presence or they must avoid you.
You take full responsibility for any interaction and find that you can’t be offended, hurt, angered or made to feel inadequate. It is a fun place to be in and everyone around you benefits.
You give complete freedom to everyone to be just as they choose to be and this gives you the same freedom. You know what you love to experience and attract that experience and truly need give little thought to what you don’t like because it is crowded out by the sheer overwhelming presence of experiences you enjoy.
If you do find an uncomfortable interaction. you immediately know you have inner issues to resolve and you are infinitely patient with yourself. The issue or issues will resolve easier and easier just be knowing you are at the center of what you are experiencing and taking responsibility without blame or judgment of yourself or others.
Giving others complete freedom to be as they wish does not mean you are subject to behaviors you don’t want and should just accept that as part of life. It means that you focus on what you would like to experience and use the behavior you don’t enjoy to better clarify what you do want to experience.
For the most part so many behaviors we try to control because they are uncomfortable are uncomfortable because we have labeled it as such. When you really look at the behavior, it has no power to make you feel uncomfortable without your judgment.
For example, if someone is rude or says something untrue or “disrespectful” or call someone a name…that action or behavior can cause no discomfort unless we give it power or feel we need to control it. It has no affect or power without our permission.
The great thing to know is that no person connected to their truth could or would do anything that was less than uplifting and empowering. Anyone saying or doing anything less is suffering in some way, lashing out from their point of disconnection. It isn’t about you. They are not less, just disconnected.
You don’t need to fix them or judge them or control them but many times if you are connected enough to your own truth and can see theirs through their walls and defenses, you will find their behavior changes around you. If for some reason they can’t see their way toward changing as long as you stay connected they must leave your experience. It is without exception. Or at least not be around you unless their behavior resonates with what you want.