Review: Melissa & Doug mini bead maze

I had $70 to spend on any of CSN Stores' sites as long as I used it all on one order, so after picking a few kitchen things that we needed (pizza pan, rolling pin, steak knife set), I had a bit of money left. I decided to spend it on a Melissa & Doug mini bead maze for Nico. He's just recently developed the dexterity for toys with smaller parts, and I thought he'd like it. The bead maze arrived just in time for his half-birthday, which was a nice coincidence. The packaging said it was for ages 1 and up, but with supervision I don't see any reason why a younger baby can't safely enjoy it. The maze is up to the standards of quality and durability that can be expected from Melissa & Doug toys, with bright colors and fun shapes to attract a baby's interest. The beads slide easily on the coated wires and are just the right size for little fingers.



One of the reviewers on the product page mentioned that he took the maze out to restaurants for his kid, since the suction cups on the bottom allow it to stick to the table. I thought that was a pretty brilliant idea, so we took the maze along yesterday when we went out for a late lunch. We sat Nico in the restaurant high chair and stuck the maze on the table in front of him. He played with it happily, and the suction cups were strong enough that even when he yanked on it, they held tight. The maze is compact enough that I can toss it in his diaper bag, but big enough to keep him entertained. I think Nico gives it five stars!





DISCLOSURE: I received this product for free in exchange for a teaser post on my main blog containing a linked keyword selected by CSN Stores. The words and opinions in this review are my own.

Review: Calphalon classic pizza pan

I was offered the chance to do another review with CSN Stores. I was given $70 to spend in any of their online shops. I spent most of it on items for the kitchen, since we're still working with a blend of nice things we've bought as adults and cheap stuff we bought or were given back in college. One of our saddest college-days holdovers is our pizza pan. It was probably fine when it was new, but that was ten years ago and we're not talking about a high-quality piece of bakeware. We always cover it with foil because first of all, it's kind of perma-grubby and secondly, everything sticks to it.




I picked the Calphalon classic 16" pizza pan, which promised to crisp the crusts.



So far, so good. It did crisp the crust really nicely, too. The only downside, which I didn't discover until later -- when we cut the pizza, the sauce leaked through the holes down onto the stovetop. Knowing that now, we'll be more careful next time.

Usually MB washes the dishes, but in the interest of full disclosure, I washed the pizza pan last night. Even after sitting for more than 24 hours unrinsed, all the pizza crud wiped right off with almost no effort at all, even where the sauce had smeared on the bottom. I'm a fan!


DISCLOSURE: I received this product for free in exchange for a teaser post on my main blog containing a linked keyword selected by CSN Stores. The words and opinions in this review are my own.