Happy 100th Birthday Kenmore

What a special year it is for Kenmore this year! The company is celebrating 100 years of creating innovative products to help keep our households running smoothly and efficiently. I am so honored to get the chance to celebrate this special year with them and have had the amazing privilege of sharing my home management tips over these last few years with each of you through Kenmore’s blog.

A lot has changed in 100 years. One look at the Kenmore timeline and you can see just how much the company has evolved over the last 1oo years. Here are a few of my favorite fun facts about the company.

• In 1929, for a mere $79.50 you could buy the Gyrator wringer washer that promised to wash clothes clean in 3-7 minutes. I have to say I love the price on that, but I will take my amazingly fast & efficient Kenmore large capacity washing machine in 2013 over that any day of the week! The laundry innovations caught on fast because by 1936, the company had already sold 1 million laundry products!
• No more, “you wash, I’ll dry,” chores.  In 1951, Kenmore added the dishwasher to their appliance offerings. I don’t know about you, but I can’t imagine a life without my dishwasher and I am sure families in the fifties were cheering everywhere when this appliance became available. By 2010, Kenmore had mastered the noise factor with this appliance and introduced the quietest dishwasher they had ever created. The decibels on that model registered as low as 43 dBA (virtually silent) from their Kenmore Elite line.
• In 1963 their gorgeous and ever-so-amazing happy housewife in the Kenmore campaigns was none other than Donna Reed. How cool is that?

If there is one thing in our family we do well, it is properly celebrate birthdays. On these special days, you will find a balloon wreath hanging proudly on our front door. This balloon wreath is an easy one to create with a straw wreath (with plastic left intact) and securing 140-150 balloons to your wreath with greening picks (found over in the floral section of your local craft store). Just secure the balloons in the middle with the greening picks and repeat the process until your wreath is covered and full.

The other fun element I try to always add to our birthday parties is some type of homemade cake. In our house, it is the birthday girl or boy’s special privilege to select their own birthday cake. I let the kids go through all of my cookbooks and select their birthday cake each year. Some of the members in our household plan this special day six months or so in advance. I often find the cookbooks filled with bookmarks while the birthday boy/girl dreams about their special day.  It’s always a tough decision, but is always filled with a lot of excitement.

In honor of Kenmore’s birthday, I want to share my favorite Chocolate Snickerdoodle Cake recipe because I think it is rather innovative to pair cinnamon and chocolate together, don’t you?  What better way to celebrate an innovative company celebrating their 100^th anniversary?

This chocolate snickerdoodle cake is coated in a delicious chocolate cream cheese frosting and adorned in a dusting of dark chocolate candy that adds that perfect finishing touch! The best part about this cake though is that it begins with a cake mix and can be mixed up quickly in your Kenmore stand mixer!

Happy birthday, Kenmore!