My Dream Mixer

I have always wanted a KitchenAid stand mixer, from the time other kids started lusting after cars. I knew they were both expensive and heavy, and since college I have moved about a dozen times, each time grateful I didn't have to lug one around, but still yearning for the mixer's sexy curves enhancing all the goodies coming out of my kitchen. I promised myself I would not get one until I had my first home - a housewarming present to myself - and I put aside the money little by little. I always checked prices - these things are constantly "on sale" but never for less than $250. Over the last ten years, I've pored over the mixer reviews in Consumer Reports, kept my eyes open at garage sales and browsed Craigslist, built my "dream mixer" at KitchenAid's website, and lusted after Alton Brown's custom model with hotrod flames. You'd think the first thing I would have done after purchasing a house was run down to the store and pick mine out. The thing is, after all this time, my frugal brain started its constant refrain: you've been making do with a dinky little hand mixer, and it hasn't affected the taste of anything. You have a home and family to care for, and there are several more important priorities for that few hundred dollars. It's a want, not a need, so you can put it off a bit longer. *Sigh* I knew my brain was right....and on my thirty(ahem) birthday, I was much more concerned with getting the kids fed and bathed than the overly-large, brightly-wrapped package on the table. When the kids began "helping" me unwrap it, and revealed an Ice Blue, Artisan 6-quart hunka hunka burnin love for the kitchen, I was totally blown away. My husband knew I'd never go through with spending that much on myself, and pulled the trigger for me! My dream machine now lounges sultrily on my counter, whispering "come hither...and bake." I couldn't be happier, until I realized...now instead of two beaters to lick, there's only one!

Josie and August helping me bake cookies