Kitchens are a classic toy for toddlers up through young school aged children. Just like the adults, children at a play date congregate around the kitchen. With the Step2 Fresh Market Kitchen (Step2.com – $200), there is room for several children to play side-by-side or engage in imaginative games of grocery shopping and cooking with friends…

Thank you for coming along with me as I’ve tested out the new Gallery Collection from Frigidaire. Remember that you can also win Frigidaire appliances and earn a $1 donation for Save the Children by pledging to Make Time for Change…

The last of the sweet suite of Frigidaire appliances I received distinguishes itself with its intuitive features. Actually, this is two appliances: the Range and the mounted Microwave. Like the rest of the Gallery appliances, the range and microwave look sharp. Even more importantly, they have a large number of time-saving and convenient options.

Frigidaire promises that their appliances will give you back more “me” time. Even better, let’s make that some “we” time.

Jennifer Garner, Frigidaire celebrity spokesperson (and awesome mom, despite having totally stolen the name Violet from me), are teaming up in support of Save the Children.

Affinity Washer and Dryer “appliances”. It is like some advanced alien civilization visited my laundry room and left behind their space-age technology.

Maybe it is just because I’m frugal, but I’ve never owned anything quite like this before. Sure, the other appliances are good. They are more efficient, sharper-looking, and roomier than my old ones. But the washer/dryer are a whole other species of home electronics…

There’s a member of my family who takes a little ribbing for an insistence on washing each dish thoroughly before placing it in the dishwasher–and the dishes are so immaculate no one knows if the washer has been run or not. This person insists that is the only way the dishes get clean. Add to that the time spent drying the dishes after the dishwasher is done, and there is almost no point in putting the dishes in the dishwasher.

So, I was really hoping that our new Frigidaire dishwasher would cut down on the time and effort we put into washing dishes in our household…