Lorraine’s five fantastic finds for her holiday gift guide are some of my favorite yet. And her favorite thing about the holidays is truly heartwarming:

“When we put up our Christmas tree up on December 18th, friends and family gather around the undecorated Christmas tree, light candles and say the Christmas tree blessing. We sing a hymn and then everyone decorates the tree while my daughter puts the angel atop the tree. Everyone then enjoys dinner and drinks. It is solemn and magical tradition in our family that we have been doing since the kids were small and hopefully one that they will carry on.”

I had never heard of a Christmas tree blessing before, but I love the idea and hope to start this tradition with my family next year! Enjoy Lorraine’s holiday gift guide!

1. Miele CM5000 Tabletop Coffee Maker  // www.MieleUSA.com, or the Miele Dallas Gallery

The hottest, best tasting coffee of any tabletop coffee machine, it even grinds the beans and makes espresso (add a shot to any chocolate dessert to bring out the flavor of the chocolate), regular black coffee, cappuccino, and lattes. It makes hot milk for delicious hot chocolate, and to top it all hot foamy milk froth. It’s better than any Starbucks!

2. Slatkin Candles in Winter Wonderland & Fireside // Bath and Body Works

For only $19.95 you can gift these long burn, high fragrance candles, which will last through the holidays. My favorite two scents are Winter Wonderland and Fireside.

3. Make a Donation // Joyce Meyer Hand of Hope

Give the gift of thankfulness by donating to a great cause like Joyce Meyer Hand of Hope. They do so much that we wish we could do but never have time.

4. Angora Wool Women’s Sweater // CostCo

These sweaters are only $29.95 — a steal, considering that they are also machine washable.

5. A Miele Canister or Upright Vacuum // www.MieleUSA.com, or the Miele Dallas Gallery

This should be on everyone’s wish list. Once you use one, you will never want to use anything else!

Are you a coffee snob? I have to admit, I kind of am. For most of my life I didn’t drink coffee, that is, until I spent a summer abroad in Costa Rica in college. Our advisors told us it would be seen as “culturally insensitive” to not accept the food or drink that was put in front of us. The first morning after I arrived, the family I was living with had breakfast waiting and mugs filled with their notorious Costa Rican brew. “No sugar, no milk,” my new madre insisted. I hesitantly took a sip, preparing myself in advance to avoid making a disgusted face. But I didn’t make one. I wasn’t even tempted! It was delicious.

As it turned out, I didn’t actually dislike coffee. I just disliked bad coffee. Waking up to a pot of freshly ground perfectly brewed coffee became the highlight of my day! And so it remains.

Upon returning to the US, I learned that achieving that perfect cup of coffee or expresso at home can be quite the challenge. Ever since becoming a coffee-lover, I have longed for a Miele coffee maker which makes this task oh-so easy, producing a delicious, full-body, rich taste every time. But living in an apartment with limited counter space and impracticality of built-ins, the Miele Dream would have to be postponed till I had a house.

Until now!

Miele recently introduced its latest innovation – the CM5 Espresso Machine — a countertop version of their famed built-in unit. This new system makes simply perfect espresso and coffee beverages each and every time. Prepare to become your own home barista!

As with any Miele product, performance and longevity are paramount. The CM5 has been tested to last 20 years, which equates to 50,000 cups!

The CM5 is offered in white or black finish with stainless steel accents and will be available exclusively through Williams-Sonoma and Miele Galleries in Fall 2011.

To get a look and a taste, head on in to Miele’s Dallas Gallery in LOL where guests are always welcome to stop by and try a cup. I know I’ll be stopping by soon!

Man I wish I had one of these! A piping hot cappuccino from a Miele coffee system sounds so good right now. I can’t wait to have my own home so I can have one built into my kitchen!

Miele Dallas Gallery
1700 Oak Lawn Avenue, Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 741-3535
www.miele.com/dallas

Red wine glasses, white wine glasses — we all have them. But have you ever wondered why each type of wine merits its own shape? Learn about the unique relationship between the shape of a glass and our perception and enjoyment of wines at a wine tasting hosted by Riedel regional sales manager, Tommy Leman on Wednesday, February 23, 2011.

Hosted at Miele’s Dallas Gallery, the $55 ticket price includes a four piece Vinum Wine Tasting Set which retails at $116. Each boxed set contains one of each of the Vinum Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Montrachet glassware.

Tickets for the event are available to purchase from the Riedel Online Store.

*This event is open to those aged 21 and over only.

I’m not a teacher, most of my friends and cousins are still childless, and I work in the Design District, which isn’t exactly the most kid-friendly part of town. So basically, I’m never around kids, like ever. So when I ventured over to Miele this morning for their first Kids Cooking Class, I had no idea what I was in for!

This morning the children of Miele’s Dallas sales reps and employees gathered for a test drive of Miele’s newest class: Cooking for Kids. During the class, the kids learned how to cook Macaroni & Cheese Cupcakes, Chicken Lollipops and a Crunchy Granola Snack.

Miele’s dynamic duo, Lorraine and Andy, helped the kids follow the recipe and showed them how to easily use the Miele appliances in the showroom’s fabulous test kitchen.

The mom’s got to get their hands dirty too, helping with some of the class’s younger members.

The kids were incredibly well behaved and outfitted in adorable little Miele Kids aprons.

They were all eager to help and so proud of the food that they created. I’m surprised at how much fun I had. And I was just taking pictures! There’s nothing like the smile of a child to brighten your day!

Due the success of today’s festivities, Miele is going to start offering more kids cooking classes. Subscribe to LowerOakLawn.com for all the latest info on upcoming classes and kid-friendly activities in the Dallas Design District!

Check out more pictures from today’s event on Flickr:

[flickr album=72157625647725966 num=5 size=Square]

Miele Dallas Gallery
1700 Oak Lawn Ave, Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 741-3535
www.miele.com/dallas

Yesterday one of my favorite bloggers, Jen of “Made by Girl“, featured Miele’s automatic coffee machine on her blog. As Jen pointed out, the machines are both scratch and fingerprint resistant. How awesome is that?! Stainless steel is usually such a pain to keep clean!

She asked readers to weigh in on whether they’d used one before and got tons of comments. Here is some of the feedback she got:

We just bought one of these for our showroom (we have a tile and stone showroom)…it is being installed into our Arclinea kitchen today!!! I will let you know how we like it (and send some yummy pics!) – Kelly

My in-laws have one of these and it’s amazing! If you’re hosting a dinner/massive coffee drinkers and make mainly straight black coffees, you’d probably need to refill the water container maybe for every 6/8th coffee…This matters after a while because I’ve been caught in my morning daze to simply push a button to get a coffee, but have had to refill the container.

It has different size settings, so you can make a small/medium/large sized coffee. It heats up pretty quickly, and looks really chic sitting in the wall I totally recommend it! – Phuong

My bosses have this and I use it every single morning!!! It makes the best coffee! I have to clean it a lot and it can get expensive for the cleaning supplies, but the coffee is worth it! I don’t even stop at starbucks in the mornings, because miele is awesome! – Tiff

Talk about kitchen eye candy- stunning! I’d really like to know how the flavor of “pod” espressos tastes compared to traditional espresso machines- gotta say I’m a little skeptical of the pod idea! I love my freshly ground beans  {postscripted} designs

Anyone interested in trying out the coffee is welcome to head on down to the Miele showroom in the Dallas Design District and they’ll be happy to whip you up an espresso! In the mean time, check out Jen’s post for more pictures and musings on Miele: Kitchen Trends….Miele Automatic Coffee Maker

Do any LowerOakLawn.com readers have a Miele coffee maker? If so let us know what you think of it in the comments below!

Miele Dallas
1700 Oak Lawn Ave.
Dallas, TX 75207
www.miele.com

After reading my post on the turquoise chair at Anteks, Lorraine, gallery manager at Miele Dallas, couldn’t resist sharing a turquoise spring cleaning favorite from her showroom! The Miele S4212 Neptune vacuum is a canister vac with some serious style. Its extra-terrestrially turquoise color was inspired by Pantone’s 2010 color of the year:

Like Pantone, Miele’s color experts are constantly searching for the next hot color,” says Nadine Gast, Senior Product Manager for Miele.

The nifty Neptune is recommended for low to medium-pile carpeting, area rugs and smooth flooring. It retails for a cool $529, a steal considering it’ll probably be the last vacuum cleaner you’ll ever own! It is built to Miele’s rigorous, self-imposed, 20-year life design protocol which means that the machine must withstand a 1,000-hour endurance test before production can begin.

I don’t know about you, but some cute new appliances could help get me motivated to start my spring cleaning! Or at least motivated to shop for coordinating cleaning supplies & accessories!

Jitterbug Apron {via anthropologie}	Bathroom Cleaning Kit {via method home}	Cleaning Gloves {via julie meyer}

Miele Dallas Gallery
1700 Oak Lawn Avenue, Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 741-3535,
www.miele.com/dallas

Cold, hot, permanent press, gentle, tumble dry — who knows?! Miele does. Pronounced mee-luh — (rhymes with Sheila), the high-end appliance company has got the art of laundry down to a science. And this Thursday they’re sharing their secrets with you in a Clean Laundry Class at their Dallas Design District showroom. You’ll learn Miele’s best laundry tips and techniques to making your clothing and appliances last longer. From tough stains to linens and delicates — Miele has your questions covered.

The free class will also feature a product demonstration of Miele’s luxury home laundry systems. It will be held this Thursday, January 28th from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM and will be repeated on Thursday February 11th 11:00 AM-12:00 PM. Register after the jump.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

Miele
1700 Oak Lawn Ave. Ste. 200
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 741-3535
www.miele.com

Sacks, Miele, Kreiss, Artemide, Kisabeth, Miller — No, these aren’t just names of prominent showrooms in the Dallas Design District. Thanks to the new apartment complex The Alexan Design District they are also the names of the newest apartment floorplans to hit the Big D.

After about three days on the job I had an “aha” moment while browsing the Alexan’s Web site. I realized that the clever folks over at 1551 Oak Lawn had used area businesses as inspiration for the names of their units. More fun and easier to remember than the industry standard “E1″ and “B2″ nomenclature, it impressed me that the developer would take the time to incorporate its new neighbors into its complex.

After checking a few other properties’ Web sites I learned that this name game is constant among the other Alexan properties. My favorite: the Alexan Southwestern in the medical district just up the road, which names its units after the character of Grey’s Anatomy! Really, who wouldn’t want to live in a unit called “The Shepherd?” How McDreamy!

Which is your favorite Alexan floorplan?