Pampered Chef-iversary

Happy March!...?!?!  

As per usual, this post is a little belated, but I recently (2 months ago...still relatively recently, right?) celebrated my one year anniversary as an Independent Pampered Chef Consultant!

It may be a blessing in disguise that I "waited" so long to commemorate this milestone with a blog post, because since it's March, now, I can share the new spring/summer products with you!  How exciting!  Click here to check them out!  And, of course, let me know if you'd like to host a party (cooking show/catalog party/Facebook party/bridal shower) to earn FREE products!

My goal for the year was to be an "active" (submit $150 in sales) consultant each month, and thanks to many of you, I reached my goal...and beyond!  I earned some great commission, as well as some awesome new products for our kitchen.  

I had another goal, too: I didn't want to beat down anyone's door to drum up business...or become any sort of "pushy salesman" type.  I met this goal, as well!  I didn't ask anyone to host a party - all my hosts came to me of their own accord.  Word of mouth was my friend, for sure (as was my mother and her PC-loving friends! ☺)! 

My hope for the future of my Pampered Chef business is to build more clientele in the KC area.  Many of the parties I helped host this past year were from Topeka and/or Lincoln connections (and included a couple bridal showers - my favorite!).  This was to be expected, and I'm so thankful for all the support of friends and family in those previous home cities of mine.  I'm looking forward to continuing to meet new people in my current home city and hoping to bring some great products to their kitchens, too!  ☺

In an effort to spread the word about our businesses to our KC area friends, my BFF (who sells Norwex - I could write a whole post about these awesome products.  Please check them out and let me know if you want/need her contact info.!) and I hosted an open house last fall!  We had a good turn-out, and had so much fun fellowshipping and sharing our love of all these products with all who came!  Here are a few pictures from our day:

I still have a few of these left, if you see something you'd like!

Yes, the fruit is cut in shapes.
Unfortunately, the product I used to do so has been discontinued, but you're welcome to borrow mine! ☺

Used the brownie pan and the mini muffin pan for these yummies!

A "before" shot of the Sausage & Pepper Biscuit Frittata.

Apple Nut Ring before...
...Apple Nut Ring after!

Thanks to all who were able to join us!  We had so much fun, and just may have to do it again someday!

Thank you, again, to those of you who have helped support/encourage/further this business adventure of mine!  Couldn't have done it without you!

Happy cooking, all! ☺

Pampered Chef-ly,
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

our home

sunshine

Mini Robin Eggs

Starburst jelly beans

New Year, new news

Happy New Year, all!

I trust this finds you well and excited for the year ahead.

You already know how I feel about resolutions, so this isn't a post about those.  It is, however, a post about a new adventure I'm embarking on starting this year:

I'm officially a Pampered Chef consultant!

This is something I've been considering doing for years...literally...almost 20 years, probably.  No joke.  My mom hosted many a Pampered Chef party throughout my childhood, and I've grown up using the products as long as I've been active in the kitchen.  So...I guess you could say it's in my blood...or something.

Seriously, though - I'm really excited about this, you guys...for these reasons (in no particular order):

• I don't know how much I've written about this somewhat-little-known fact on here, but I could watch cooking shows all day.  We didn't have cable/satellite growing up (still don't), so whatever was showing on PBS on Saturday mornings started this obsession.  Late-night baby-sitting gigs fed it, because, so long as there was cable, there was the Food Network.  Nowadays, Nexflix provides my fixes.
• I've always dreamed of having my own cooking show.  When I was younger, I was in 4-H cooking class (led by my mom!) and put on live cooking demonstrations on a regular basis.  Somehow, I discovered Rachael Ray and watched her shows every chance I could get!  I've been told on numerous occasions I not only look like her, but also remind people of her in other ways, too - which I take as a very high compliment!
• There are days when I miss being in a classroom setting.  I'm a trained teacher, and though I prefer one-on-one lessons, I still enjoy being in front of a class every once in a while.  This setting seems like a great way to itch that scratch (probably I should find a different way to say that, huh?)...and also a great opportunity to utilize all my little bitty mise en place prep bowls even more!
• I love meeting new people and building relationships.  There's probably a whole blog post here, but we'll just leave it at that. ☺
• The extra cash won't hurt, but that's not really the reason I'm doing this.
• I haven't done something truly new in a pretty long time...my brain is ready for a new form of exercise!

All of these are pieces in the puzzle of reason I put together in deciding whether or not to (finally) sign on to Pampered Chef (poetic...and slightly cheesy, I know...).  I'm anxious to see what I get to do with this puzzle!  ☺

Charlie is also excited...mostly about the packing materials that came in my new consultant kit box (he's excited about the box, too).

If you wouldn't mind doing me a favor, head on over to Facebook and like my new page.  I plan to use this page to promote awesome deals, share recipes and ideas, field questions and comments, and minimize all these posts from coming through my personal account.  ☺

Luckily, I already had a picture of me in a PC apron to use as the profile pic!

Can't wait to help host bridal showers like the one that was put on for me! ☺

As I embark on this journey to share my love of cooking, of baking, of teaching, of meeting new people, and of course, my love of Pampered Chef, I ask for your prayers, suggestions, etc., etc.  Let me know if you have any interest in any part of it, of course, and if there are any questions I didn't answer in this post!  ☺

Thank you, thank you.

Pampered Chef-ly (of course),
Kensy

Favorites of the day:

quality time with friends and family

post-holiday clearance

merely glancing over the list of items to come in a new consultant kit and getting to be so pleasantly and genuinely surprised by the contents of the package when it arrived at our door ☺

Squeaky clean!

That's me - squeaky clean, because I've had so many showers, lately!

My uncle asked my cousin if she took soap to one of my showers.

A different cousin brought a shower curtain as a gift to another.

Ha. Ha.

☺

I won't be offended if you didn't laugh at any of the puns.  And for those of you who missed it - I've been fortunate enough to be the "guest of honor" at a few wedding/bridal showers in the last couple of weeks.  I realize I've posted about these on Facebook, but I'd like to include them in this blog, as well, because it seems to have become a sort of "life book" for me, and these are an important entry in that book...and memories I want to keep fresh for a long time to come.

The first of the showers was in Lincoln and thrown by a couple dear friends from college and one of my aunts.  The theme was "All You Need Is Love," and it was such a cute, lovely, well-put-together event!  Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures of my own of this one, but here's a taste:

No pictured: delicious snacks, cute table decorations, "date night" popsicle sticks, "Favorite Kensy Memories" cards, and a fun (and funny) "Who Said It?" game!

I got to keep the Scrabble tile sign!  My former coopmate (the creator of the sign and one of the hostesses) and I used to play Scrabble together all the time. ☺

The second shower was a pizza party couple's shower hosted by Bryant's family in Oklahoma.  We had so much fun spending time with family and friends, sampling pizza, and sharing recipes!  The decor, favors, food, etc. was all amazing.  Check it all out here!

The third was a dream come true, for me: a Pampered Chef bridal shower!  My mom has been hosting/attending Pampered Chef parties for most of my life, and I've grown up using and loving the tools.  So, it was very exciting for me when my matron of honor asked if she could throw me a Pampered Chef shower.  Again - not a lot of pictures, but be assured we had a wonderful time!

After we had some snacks and played a fun game, I got to be the demonstrator!

I'm just overwhelmed and humbled by the outpouring of love, creativity, and generosity of the host/hostesses and guests of these showers.  It all definitely filled my bucket and made me/us even more excited for our big day!

In other news, I moved almost all of my belongings to Kansas City this weekend, so...I guess that's a pretty big deal.  ; )  Big thanks to my family for helping us start to get settled!

Here we go!
P.S. The guest bed is up and ready for visitors!

I think this will be my last post as Miss Berggren.  Still working on the tie-in for bringing "The Scoop from the Coop" to you from a home that has never housed chickens, but fear not - I will continue posting as often as married life allows.

Thank you all for your shared excitement, love, and support!  It sure means a lot.

Until next time...

With much anticipation,
Miss Kensy Berggren

Favorites of the day:

Bacon Cheddar Potato Soup

wedding details & excitement

This going away/thank you gift from a family I teach:

I often reference the song "Scales & Arpeggios" from this movie, but rarely does a student actually know what I'm referring to.  There's one 3rd grade boy who was/is obsessed with this movie, though, so he picked up on the reference right away...and thought we needed a copy of our own in KC. ☺