placemats

Lots of moms like to think out loud, and houseofanais is one of them. Here is one the latest posts to her House of Anais blog.

I know we are not the greenest family in the country, but we are trying to do our fair share on recycling, walking, shorter showers (miss Anaïs so enthusiastically uses her water timer for everyone), etc. We also try to live a relatively healthy lifestyle by eating more local and organic produce, avoiding BPA and other chemicals, and so on — and I recently also blogged about my quest for safer equipment in my start of the school year story. Basically, we updated the kids' school kits to these cute and eco-friendly lunch bags, food containers, and water bottles.

So recently we were asked if we wanted to test some environmentally-friendly products, and the whole family was very excited to try some out. The kids selected these cool placemats from Modern Twist, made out of food-grade silicone (they are very flexible so none of those bent corners that normally happen to our plastic placemats). What is so cool about them is that you can color them — and immediately I was thinking of long car journeys, sticking them in my handbag when going for restaurant meals (double benefits for being able to scrap all that falling food back to the place and entertaining kids as nonchain restaurants don't normally have activity packs for kids, and the waits time are long). We'll see soon how all that works as we are heading on our Yosemite road trip!

Oh how they loved coloring these placemats — for once, they stayed at the table eating the dinner and then coloring their pictures. Poor little Hugo got sidelined a bit as his rather artistic daddy wanted to also have a go too when enjoying his sushi. My tip would be to get one of these whiteboard erasers as it makes the cleaning of the placemats really quick. I also liked their coloring pens as they are child safe — and easy to wash off from clothes if an accident happens (unlike some other pens . . .)

My verdict all in all — we all love them, they are very cute and safe and can be used for many purposes — highly recommended!

And this is how far the kids got after meal one — and can one tell a difference between a 2-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy? Or maybe he just has a very modern style . . .

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I'm not the type of person who redecorates with the seasons; I have a hard enough time just finishing decorating each room in my home to begin with. But I do love to introduce seasonal tabletop décor. That said, I love color too much to go all browns and grays when Fall comes around.My latest obsession is Simrin's new Fall table linens! The Verdant Placemats ($22), available in navy, brown, or gray, have a broad-scale, modern, William Morris-inspired botanical pattern with a dark base and enough pops of color to keep it light. The Fan Placemats ($22), available in gray, mauve, or turquoise, have a graphic, monochrome, Art Deco-style pattern. Both can be interchanged with the new Optic Napkins ($18), Geo Napkins ($22), or Herringbone Napkins ($22), and the mix of patterns and colors will surely create an engaging table setting. What do you think?

I have a love-hate relationship with placemats. I'm grateful that they keep a dinner mess contained, but then I always dread washing, drying, and occasionally ironing them, too. I've bought the plastic ones but they often get warped quickly and sometimes require a glass to hold the corners down. So it was with great delight that I discovered the most divine and chic placemats to date.

Crafted with FDA-grade silicone, Modern Twist's new take on linens offers up sleek designs that will have modern décor groupies clambering around the table. The minimalist look lets the table stand out while saving its surface from crumbs and water rings. All the while, the silk-screened images allow creative minds to venture into a make-believe world where washable markers are welcome. Artists and kiddos can get after the mats again and again with no trace left behind once water hits the slab. And the food? It rolls right off just like water does to oil. Now if only my dishes were so easy to clean.