Sunday, August 21, 2011

Do Colleges Take Pie as Tuition Payment?

I have a dirty secret.

I've spent hours online looking at certain pictures. Scouring the internet, constantly searching for just the right one, just the one I want. Lusting after what I don't have, knowing that what's at home isn't satisfying me. I just don't feel fulfilled. I need something bigger. Something with more power. A little more oomph.

Something that will get my egg whites fluffier and my meat more tender.

I mean kitchen supplies, of course.

Specifically, I have two big kitchen mistresses. The Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer in Majestic Yellow:
Image from amazon.com. Isn't she pretty?
And the 7 1/4 Quart Le Creuset French Oven, in Cherry Red:


Image from amazon.com. Can't you just smell the pot roast?


I want these things. I want them so much. It's too bad the combined cost of both is over $600 and my son would probably be mad if I bought fancy kitchenware instead of putting him through college. But son! Remember those really good birthday cakes? And those pulled pork sandwiches? That's why you can't go to Berkeley without crippling student loans. Totally worth it! Up top! And then in my fantasy world, we high five and he thanks me for being the best mom ever.

I feel bad for coveting such expensive items, especially considering that my own hand mixer, Sir Mix-A-Lot, has been so faithful to me. He tries his best, whirring at about the same speed, no matter what setting he's on. With only one attachment left, the standard egg beater, he does his best to whisk air into my meringue and keep my cake batter smooth, and I truly appreciate the effort. However, Sir Mix-A-Lot is not a work horse. He's getting old and it'll soon be time to go to the great mixing bowl in the sky. I know he needs rest, but I can't replace him now. Like an old factory owner, I'm going to work him until he dies or loses a part in an accident. (Oooo! An accident! Maybe I can convince the husband that Sir died in a horrible accident and THAT'S why I need a $300 mixer. How do you fake an appliance death? It was awful! The dip just exploded! There was cheese and mixer parts everywhere! I'll never look at avocados the same way again!)
Look at him. So tired and old. You can practically hear him complain about Social Security.
Neither the stand mixer or the Le Creuset are in my immediate future, because my practical brain tells me that while having a fancy mixer and french oven are nice, they won't help my son become a doctorlawyersurgeonengineer. So for now, I'll hide from Sir Mix-A-Lot, and stare at pictures on Amazon.com, all day long, watching the price go up and down $5, thinking, Maybe now. Now? I'll buy it now. No. Not now. Now. No. Maybe. No. I'll just go check Facebook.


Anything you covet, kitchen or otherwise, that's just a touch too expensive? Tell me what it is!

8 comments:

  1. Yes!!! I want a Vitamix blender SO BAD. They can do everything, short of wiping your a**.

    I also covet the Kitchenaid mixer. And a decent food processor. I actually burnt out the motor on my last one and now use a manually operated processor. Beads of sweat dripping from my face...

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  2. I am forever looking at food processor reviews! I make pie crust by hand and it would be so much easier to just throw it in a processor and be done with it. But I just can't justify buying one just for pie crust. And pesto. And salsa. And now I'm adding it to the list.

    I just looked up the Vitamix blender. That is one serious blender! Oh, the margaritas I would make.

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  3. The Xbox 360 Limited Edition Kinect Star Wars Bundle. The console looks like R2-D2 and makes noises when you turn it on/off and open the disc tray. The controller looks like C-3P0, all shiny, with the familiar black and exposed wiring motif along the bottom. Drool.

    It's pretty much the coolest, most beautiful thing ever. And, naturally, it costs $450.

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  4. I have wanted a Kitchen Aid stand mixer AND a Le Creuset dutch oven for FOREVER. We got a good crock pot for Christmas from Jon's mom, and a few Christmases ago, I got a cheap-o version of the KA stand mixer - but it does the trick!

    Other things I covet: Dyson DC28 Animal Upright Vacuum. Ohhh, to have something that would suck up Peekay's hair explosion with minimal work and clean-up on my part. Alas, it is $600, naturally.

    Also, a Nikon Digital SLR Camera. Sigh...

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  5. Stace, I feel you. Nothing is like Le Creuset. I have a Le Creuset gratin dish, and everything I make in there is like magic.

    I've used your stand mixer! I remember it did really well against 3 packages of cold cream cheese. Most impressive.

    We have a less expensive version of the Dyson. We have a Bissell Pet Vac, which I don't think they sell anymore under that name. It was less than $100 and almost 5 years later, it really sucks up the massive amounts of hair that Berkeley shoots off his body like dander missiles. I mean, it can't compare to a beautiful Dyson, but it's not bad.

    I was JUST looking at digital SLRs online today. I would love to take pictures that aren't on my iphone. Let's please find some pirate treasure and buy all of the things. Yes?

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  6. I share Stacy's desire for a Dyson. All I want is the small DC24 Multi floor...but why must it be $430?? I need a dishwasher first. Brain and I have actually been trying to cut back on spendy items to save for a REALLY good one. Any recommendations? It would need to be a portable, because we live in a tiny 1950s single-bedroom and there's no way we'll be able to install one. But I just KNOW our lives would be 10x better without having to star at dirty dishes all the time!

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  7. I know nothing about dishwashers, but Consumersearch.com, my all time favorite review website, has a couple paragraphs about portable dishwashers: http://www.consumersearch.com/dishwasher-reviews/budget-dishwashers (scroll to the bottom.)

    If I didn't have a dishwasher, I would never leave my house, because I'd be surrounded by dirty dishes. Floor to ceiling. It would be like Hoarders, except I'd be begging someone, anyone, to throw away my dishes and buy me new ones. That's how much I hate doing dishes.

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