Saturday, June 18, 2011

Stand Mixer


My husband and I went out to dinner about a month ago to celebrate the end of the term. He had successfully completed his qualifying exams towards his PhD and I had graduated from  the business certificate program I had enrolled in.


Conversation turned to a contemplation of what he wanted to do for himself in terms of a bigger celebration - he is pondering upgrading to a new computer, something that would make that last step he has, writing his dissertation, easier. I jokingly said "Hey, I just graduated, do I get something?" He said of course I do, and asked what I wanted. 


The answer was easy enough - even though it has only been on my kitchen wish list for a short time. A KitchenAid, Artisan Series Stand-Mixer. 


"Great," he said. "Let's get it for you this weekend." He also joked that if I hadn't picked out and purchased the stand mixer that I wanted by the end of the weekend, he'd be forced to build me one out of scraps of 2 x 4s and a rusty old drill onto which he would somehow affix (duct tape, maybe?) the attachments.


Since I already knew the type of mixer I wanted, I spent an evening driving around town to check out various department and kitchen stores to try to find who carried them, and who had the best price. Even with the sale going on at Macy's, and the "reduced price" deals offered elsewhere, the cheapest option ended up being Bed Bath and Beyond, where I had a "20% off one item" coupon. 


Next challenge - which color did I want? As you can see, KitchenAid Artisan Series has an option of 27 different colors (http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/product/KSM150PSER/) I narrowed down my options a bit until I had 2 or 3 real contenders, though I did solicit the opinions of my co-workers and friends. Some of the colors suggested matched some of what I was thinking, though my boss suggested red and orange flames. I laughed at that, but then found there is a store that actually sells flame decals for KitchenAid mixers (http://flameka.com/default.aspx). Inspired by this, I searched for other decals, and found butterflies and abstract designs, as well as words - all designed for stand mixers. Unfortunately, my brief search did not turn up any dragons.


I was down to two colors when we went in to BB&B to order my stand mixer - neither were in stock, and we ended up paying a little more for shipping so I could get the color I wanted. It wasn't until the salesperson asked me which color, and "Green Apple" came out that I was sure which color I was getting.  (For those interested, my other top-runner was Blue Willow.)  Another perk about ordering at BB&B when I did was they had a rebate going on, and I have sent in my Proof of Purchase and such, and now await delivery of a 5-quart glass mixing bowl :) 

Isn't she pretty?



I've used my pretty new stand mixer (and in writing this I am saddened that it doesn't have a name - perhaps I should try to find one for it...) a few times, mostly to make frosting for my cake decorating class. The color almost matches my new(ish) kettle, and goes well with the orangey color of my kitchen wall (http://www.myperfectcolor.com/en/color/75394_Walmart-91143-Firewater) (it's richer than it looks on the screen, really).  


Anyway, like the computer for my husband, my graduation reward is something that I think will help ease the next steps I'm taking in my experiments in vegan baking.

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