Three wishes for Gold Notes’ next 12 months

I’ve had great fun working on Gold Notes these past three years, and sharing “threesomes” with you throughout this July anniversary month. This post marks my 150th -- woo hoo!

I’ve especially enjoyed and appreciated the many guest posts by friends from across the blogosphere. Thank you, Arne Salvesen, Becky Shankle, Allan Dallatorre, La Jolla Mom, Debbie Schaeffer and Bob Borson.

I’ll continue working on Gold Notes going forward, keeping as close to my regular weekly posting schedule as possible and bringing you as much timely design information as I can. That is sometimes a challenge, given other demands on my time and achieving that rare work/life balance we all aspire to. (Thank heavens for Blogger's scheduling feature, which I only figured out how to use this season!)

My first wish for Gold Notes’ next year is including even more guest posts. Regular readers already know my Sensible Style point of view. I think it benefits all of us to get insights from others with knowledge beyond my scope.

For example, last month I brought you a terrific guest post on outdoor kitchens by the pros at Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet. This was not an advertisement for their brand – Gold Notes hasn’t accepted advertising to date – but great suggestions from a leading industry source. My own experience with outdoor kitchens is limited. Theirs certainly isn’t, so we all gain from the info.

In Gold Notes' past three years of publishing, I've also brought you lighting tips from Vicky Lodge, technology insight from David Van Wert, appliance expertise by Julie Warner and so many more! Thank you all!!!


My second wish for Gold Notes’ next year is to increase my readership. It’s already grown considerably since its launch in July 2008 and I thank you for that. I’d like to grow it even more in the next 12 months, which is where you come in. Please let me know what types of posts you’d like to see here, or send me questions you’d like me to answer online. If you value the information I’m including, please also share it with anyone you know who would also benefit from reading it, or share it on the social networking sites you use, linked below. Thank you.


My third wish, and this may be beyond 2012, given other commitments on my calendar -- including a kitchen idea book I'm writing for Taunton -- I’d like to see my Sensible Style series, launched in partnership with Kitchens.com in 2009, collected into a book. I would include added-value content, like bathroom information not currently online, useful checklists and industry resources, that I believe will be of value to those seeking to update their homes in these challenging times.

Thank you, contributors and readers alike, for helping make Gold Notes a regular read for design enthusiasts.

Jamie Goldberg, AKBD, CAPS
JAMIE GOLDBERG KITCHEN AND BATH DESIGN
San Diego, CA

Guest post by La Jolla Mom: Three favorite kid-friendly kitchen items

In honor of Gold Notes’ third anniversary, I asked uber mommy blogger, Katie Dillon, best known as La Jolla Mom, to share her three favorite kid-friendly kitchen items. I’m thrilled that she said yes, especially as so many of my readers are moms themselves. I hope her insights help you make your kitchen more family-friendly.

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Plans to renovate our kitchen accelerated once I found out I was pregnant. We had a hard deadline to finish it all before my daughter was born, so major decisions were made at a nerve-wracking pace. We enlisted the help of professionals, and are thrilled with the results. However, though I didn't know it at the time, a few choices proved invaluable as a parent.

Brizo Pascal faucet




I originally chose this Brizo Pascal Faucet for sanitary reasons. I envisioned myself cutting up raw meat and not wanting to touch the handle of my faucet, sanitize it, and repeat during the course of preparing a meal. The spout is positioned so that I can easily tap it with my elbow to use water. There is also a completely hands-free feature, which operates the faucet by simply sensing my hands are underneath the spout.

As a new mother, I could hold my baby and turn the faucet on without awkwardly reaching over the sink. It was easier to perform tasks such as washing my hands or wetting towels to mop spit up and other spills. As she became heavier, I appreciated this faucet even more. Now that my daughter is four years old, she can tap the faucet herself to turn it on and off. Even with a step stool, she can't reach the handle. Preschoolers are constantly washing their hands, so not having to turn the water on and off for her multiple times per day is definitely useful.


Sub-Zero Model 695 Refrigerator



As we have a water dispenser on our sink, I almost opted for the Sub-Zero refrigerator without a water and ice dispenser in the door. I'm so glad I didn't, because the water tastes noticeably better than our filtered sink water, (probably because it's cold). We now keep a stack of kid-friendly cups next to the refrigerator for my four-year-old to help herself to water, since she can't reach the levers on our sink without a big step stool.

She used to dislike water and beg for juice instead. Now, she drinks almost exclusively water because she likes operating the water dispenser all by herself. The other aspect of the refrigerator that I appreciated when she was younger is that the doors are heavy and the seal is tight. During the nosy toddler period, she could never open the doors.


Little Partners' Learning Tower



I purchased the Little Partners' Learning Tower when my daughter was just past two years old. It still lives next to our kitchen island, where we do most food preparation, and I believe it will stay there for years to come. I can't recommend the Learning Tower enough, if you have the space for it. It has adjustable heights so kids stay at counter level as they grow. If kids can't see what you're doing on the counter, you may have them tugging at your pant leg and fussing instead.

While standing in the tower, my daughter has snacks, does crafts, and is happy to just hang out while I'm preparing meals. It has given me freedom and is partially responsible for my daughter's genuine interest in cooking.