happy mother's day!

I can't believe that this year, I actually have a bunch of friends my age who are already (or will very soon be) mothers! Goodness. How did we go from prom to motherhood in a flash?

I'm getting my mom a belated Mother's Day gift because I'm seeing her in less than two weeks, but I had to go searching through the Williams-Sonoma website anyway for ideas. They have so many cool things there! I wanted to get this Ebelskiver Filled-Pancake Pan for my mom, but Mika pointed out that it's not so much a gift for her as for me because I want to be the guinea pig for the lovely Danish puffy pancakes that they make. I'm still considering getting it for her anyway ...

How delish do those pancakes look? Oh, I'm definitely tempted ... Another very cool contraption that I found is something that my mom probably won't want, but I want it! It's more of a European thing (or a wine guzzler thing): the Penguin Sparkling Water Maker.

Once upon a time when I was an intern in Germany, I despised sparkling water. I was so annoyed, I remember, that our office only had sparkling water. I guess being with a Finn for the last two and a half years, and consuming copious amounts of wine in that time has changed my point of view about sparkling water. On some days and some occasions (like during terrible hangovers) sparkling water is amazing. A crate of Pellegrino can be bought for a reasonable price at Costco, but using a sparkling water maker is really so much better for the environment.

I covet this Pizza Cue Grill so badly, but alas, nowhere to grill in Manhattan so it's a lost cause. For those lucky enough to have a grill in their backyard (just lucky enough to have a backyard, dammit!) this seems like a great contraption to have. Me, I'll have to be content with buying pizza across the street ...