I don’t know about where you live, but today was the first day back to school in my neighborhood. Incidentally, it was also the day our local school district did away with deep-fried school lunches. Forever. That means no more cheese sticks on Thursdays - my personal school week highlight. So I’m guessing that with the extra focus on health, a lot of moms will be packing sack lunches. And that means lots of snacks and sandwiches in plastic baggies that end up in the trash.

But, that doesn’t have to be the case. There are several companies out there making organic, reusable snack and sandwich bags in a multitude of designs. My favorites are these retro designs from Graze, which even include a bag labeled “surprise.” Read more about them here.

If you’re a fan of vintage kitchen wares, check out this vintage-inspired recipe book I found over at Fred Flare. It reminds me of the cover of the old Betty Crocker I found in my grandmother’s recipe book collection. But more colorful. I also sort of wish that this design were available as wallpaper.

Bed in a Bag is convenient, but I like this Kitchen in a Pot set so much better. Technically, these are designed for hikers / campers, but I would love to see a similar product designed for a real kitchen. The light-weight set includes everything you need - pots with strainer lids, cups and bowls/plates and would be perfect for someone with an efficiency kitchen or even in a dorm.

You don’t have to grow your own produce to use one of these fantastically rustic vegetable racks. They’ve been designed to fit on a typical kitchen counter or in a larder (which is something homes in Texas usually don’t have). The big benefit of these drawers is the slatted bottoms, which allow air to circulate around the produce. But, even if you’re not a fan of veggies, these drawers would be a great place to store gardening tools, wine, or even kitchen tools.

If I ever get the chance to just relax on the weekend, I really enjoy baking. This weekend, I’m thinking about making this Milk and Honey Peanut Butter Fudge recipe I found on The Kitchn. Which is also where I found the link to this fabulous looking graduated measuring cup. The largest measure I have only holds three cups and looks no where near this fabulous.

I’ve been using a French Press for a few years now. It didn’t start as a rebellion against machine-brewed java. It was an issue of technological ineptitude. Every coffee maker I’ve ever owned has somehow malfunctioned. And if there’s one thing I can’t take in the morning, it’s ruining a cup of coffee on my way out the door. But now that I have the press, I realize that the brew does indeed taste better - less bitter. So if you’ve been looking for an excuse to try one of these babies out, now is your perfect chance because this little red one is pretty darn adorable.

PS - I just realized this is the second Urban Outfitters post of the day. They’ve really beefed up their home decor department lately.

These “plastic” water bottles are actually glass decanters. I love the tongue-in-cheek styling but am slightly annoyed that Solutions doesn’t allow you to choose which of the four bottle designs you buy.

I ran across a fantastic idea on SwissMiss this morning. This is a changing table made from an inexpensive Sunex tool cart. I don’t have kids, but I thought there must be a million other things you could do with one of these fantastic, colorful carts - like turn it into a rolling bar cart for a patio or even your dining room.

I love the yellow, but I only found the red. But this heavy-duty service cart is just $97. It has locking wheels, so you don’t have to worry about your martinis rolling away. You could store glassware and an ice bucket up top and liquor bottles below.

I also found this economy cart for just $68!

I just got the new Williams Sonoma catalog, which, for me, is essentially budgetary Kryptonite. And I was surprised to find a huge selection of actually useful kitchen tools for under $20. Here are a few that I’m starting to think I can’t live without:

Get perfect lemon slices for your tea - every time. So practical and just $15.

This little corn stripper ($13) does exactly what it says, saving you the trouble (and potential knife wounds) of stripping corn by hand.

I have always wanted one of these bad boys so that I can have that extra-crispy bacon I love to order at my local diner. Bacon Press - $12.

I’m going to let my Native-Texan show a little with my pick of this BBQ-top jalapeno roaster ($19.95). Notice those bad-boys are stuffed with cheese. I can’t wait to try this myself.

I love cherries, but the pits are, well, the pits. Sorry, couldn’t resist the bad joke. Luckily, this cherry pitter is only $13 and works on oives too.

I made my own Egg McMuffins last weekend, but the folded eggs weren’t as much fun as the perfectly round versions the chain serves. I’ll definitly be getting a set of these egg fry rings for next time ($15 for 4).

This Pizza Chopper is my absolute favorite of the under-$20 tools and one of the best bargains at just $12.95.

A few months ago, I was fascinated by an Indian lunch box featured on an episode of Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares. It was a stainless steel set of stacking tins with a handle. Basically, the lunch-bag equivalent of “I am not a plastic bag.”

I didn’t think they’d be easy to find here in Texas, but oh how wrong I was. I found this one for $9.99 at World Market (seen here on my super-messy desk).

I’m using mine to carry my lunch, but these would also be a great way to carry a fancy picnic to your local park.