PROJECT: Kitchen backsplash TIME: One week COST: $1,200 HOW HE DID IT: Jeff Wilson took a week of vacation to install a tile backsplash in the kitchen of his Glen Allen home. “I knew he was up for the challenge because he helped restore our 1972 Corvette Stingray convertible,“ wrote his wife, Alicia Wilson. Hiring a contractor to do a backsplash in the 15-by-24-foot kitchen would have been costly, particularly given the pattern and materials Alicia had in mind. Her vision was to incorporate natural materials in a vertical pattern to offset the length of the kitchen—meaning lots of angled cuts.

If the new movie “Julie & Julia” has you curious about the real Julia Child, head to Washington. There you can see the famous chef’s actual kitchen at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History. The display, called “Bon Appetit,“ opened in 2002 but is receiving some new items this summer, including memorabilia from the movie and Child’s copper pot collection, which was originally loaned to a museum in California.

All I can say is this: They don’t call me The Accidental Chef for nothing. From oversalting to actually catching food on fire, I’ve had my share of cooking disasters both professionally and personally. Some of these mistakes were fixable, while others involved a quick trip to the closest take-out pizza joint.

Float and poach The poachpod is a flexible silicone cooking tool for poaching eggs, enabling you to “float an egg in boiling water like a lily pad on a pond,“ according to the manufacturer, fusionbrands. . When the egg is ready, you flip the nonstick pod inside-out and push out the egg. Also works for making flan and molding rice and chocolate. Dishwasher safe. Suggested retail: $9.99 for a set of 2 pods. Available at kitchen specialty stores, online retailers and through http://www.fusionbrands.com. Scraping the bowl as you go When using traditional stand mixers, cooks typically have to stop the mixer periodically and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. The SideSweep Mixer Blade, with its silicone fins, wipes down the bowl as it mixes. The manufacturer says it works best for tasks such as creaming butter and making mashed potatoes, frosting, batters and doughs. Available for KitchenAid mixers. Versions for other mixers are planned. Suggested retail: starting at $24.95. For more details, a list of compatible models and to purchase, visit http://www.sideswipeblade.com. A little something to hold onto thelovehandle is a silicone kitchen grip with a built-in utensil rest. The flexible grip easily snaps on to a variety of handles, lids and pots to provide a cool grip in the hottest of situations. Suggested retail: $8.99. Available at kitchen specialty stores and online retailers. Find out more at http://www.fusionbrands.com.—Bill Lohmann