Back-to-School Must-Haves: Pottery Barn Kids' Stainless Nesting Trio

Jumping from one child in grade school to having three has been quite a transition for me.  It was so much easier when I only had one set of homework to check, just one lunch to pack, one set of emergency forms to fill out, and one outfit for picture day to pick out.  I could go on all day.  Really.

One of the things that I am dealing with now that I did not have a problem with when my oldest was in kindergarten is that the twins sometimes get their morning snacks mixed up with their lunchtime snacks.  It is important that they keep them straight because their classrooms need to be peanut-free, where the cafeteria does not.  This is where our Stainless Nesting Trio from Pottery Barn Kids comes in.

My husband and I try to use the 3-1/2" diameter stainless steel containers for the twins' morning snacks as often as we can.  That way, they do not have to try to remember which snack they are supposed to eat in the classroom. For the days when the twins receive a packaged snack, such as a mini bag of pretzels, we put a small sticker on the bag so they can easily identify it as their morning snack.

This trio is leak proof, so we are able to pack much more than just dry snacks in them.  These containers are BPA, lead, and phthalate-free.  I have used a medium size (4" diameter) container for my oldest son for years.  This year for back-to-school, Pottery Barn Kids sent the Nesting Trio for our daughter in pink, which  may be a PBK exclusive.  I have not seen these containers in the pink, blue, green, or turquoise anywhere else.  I ended up buying another set for her twin brother because I love them so much.  The large size container has a 4-3/4" diameter and is perfect for larger items, like peanut butter graham crackers or a bunch of grapes.


The PBK Stainless Nesting Trio sells for $29 and currently ships free!  Visit PotteryBarnKids.com for more information about this item and to see what other items are on their free shipping list.


Thank you to Pottery Barn Kids for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Review: Picnicking with Pyrex No-Leak Glass Storage Containers

July through mid-August is usually extremely hot and humid around here, but once the middle of August rolls around, relief is ours! We are lucky that we have several beautiful parks around all equipped with picnic tables. With great weather, a place to eat and play outdoors, good food, plus some picnic gear from Pyrex, we have all the tools we need for an enjoyable family outing.

We received an assortment of Pyrex glass storage containers and serving products plus a pair of chip-resistant plates from the Corelle Simple Lines collection, in addition to a rolling insulated cooler and a handled picnic blanket. Of all the items we received, the key to our picnic being so successful was the 6pc value pack of Pyrex No Leak Lids storage containers. One of our children's favorite side dishes is macaroni and cheese. Even though hot foods are not something normally considered as picnic food, these Pyrex containers allowed us to heat the macaroni and cheese, transport them without any leaks while keeping them hot in the insulated cooler, and serve them at our picnic lunch. We did all this without having to move the food from one container to another.

The BPA-free plastic lids have a built-in microwave vent, so that you can heat your food without worrying about any splatters or dripping condensation that you normally get with tilting the lid or using no lid at all. The seal on this vent is very tight. It is difficult to open, but it is worth it because it helps to keep the food hot once it is closed.

These containers are available in a variety of sizes and are sold both individually and in sets. The value pack I received includes a 2-cup, a 4-cup, and a 7-cup round containers with matching no-leak lids. There are also rectangular containers available in 3 and 6-cup sizes. I would love to see even larger size containers for transporting food for events and holiday parties.

Since we wanted to sit under the shade of the trees, my husband had the brilliant idea of using our Pyrex picnic blanket as a table cloth instead of putting it on the uneven ground. This worked out very well for us. We had a great lunch and then the children had a blast playing on the playground.

Although we did not use these two Pyrex gadgets for our picnic, I just wanted to highlight them because they are both designed with practicality in mind. These Pyrex measuring cups are magnetic so there is no annoying ring. It is so much easier to take the size you need and put the set back together after washing. The other gadget I wanted to point out is the Pyrex Medium Grater. It comes with a graduated 1-cup container, so you can grate cheese, chocolate, and more right into a measuring cup. The cup also comes with a lid, so you can use this product to store what you grated without having to move it to another container.

I think Pyrex did an excellent job designing these items with busy families in mind. To view more great Pyrex products, visit Pyrexware.com . You can also shop for Pyrex, Corelle, and other World Kitchen products on ShopWorldKitchen.com and many other places where quality kitchen and household products are sold.

Thank you to World Kitchen for sending us sample products free of charge to base this review upon.