My Kitchen, my Sanctuary

If you read my blog or know me at all then you know I love to cook.  Love doesn't even almost describe my feeling about cooking, I ADORE to cook.  ADORE ADORE ADORE.  So are we all on the same page?  I LOVE LOVE LOVE (and adore, don't forget adore!) to cook.  Since I am cutting back on my food intake (read all about that here) I am not sharing a recipe today cause I don't have any low fat recipes I feel like sharing at the moment (I'm bitter about being fat right now, feel sorry for me).  I thought I would tell you about the items in my kitchen that I hold near and dear to my heart.  Some have practical purposes, others have sentimental value, some stuff I just find neat and pretty.  First I need to tell you a quick side story...We have this fantastic camera, takes excellent pictures.  This fabulous camera is NOT battery operated.  This fabulous camera has a cord to charge it...and ONLY a cord.  Well electrical cords that are not permanently attached to things automatically go missing in this house, I don't know why.  I think the sock fairy got bored taking all our socks (only one in the pair though!  stupid sock fairy!) so she started taking our power cords too.  I curse the sock/cord fairy all the time.  SO since I have do not have the cord to the camera it is dead, so the pictures I am posting are straight from google...leave it to google to save the day.

Okay my favorite kitchen possessions is my Kitchen Aid Mixer.  I had been dreaming about a kitchen aid mixer since I was old enough to dream.  Around the age of 7 or 8 I realized that the kitchen aid mixer is the mack daddy of the mixer world.  Nothing else comes close to comparison.  I never could afford one, and came close to crying every time I would have to use a "regular" mixer.  So for 22 years I lived life without a kitchen aid mixer and what a sad sad state of affairs that was.  When Allen asked me to marry him a couple things went through my mind.  First:  I needed to make sure he had asked my dad, because I couldn't get married unless my daddy gave his blessing.  In case your wondering I am absolutely a daddy's girl.  Once Allen told me all that was taken care of I got crazy excited!  I was getting married!!!!!  YAY! 
Second:  It came to me (almost like a vision) that this would be the PERFECT opportunity to get that kitchen aid mixer I had been dreaming about since birth.  I have a fantastic family (also large) and Allen has a fantastic family (also large) and we have fantastic friends and church families.  I knew that wedding showers would be soon coming...in my mind wedding shower=kitchen aid mixer!  I told EVERYONE that I didn't care if they gave me the first plate, spoon, cup, crock pot, serving dish or anything else all I wanted was a kitchen aid mixer (color:  red.  If possible)   Well wedding showers came and went and no mixer, I will say though we RACKED UP!  We received some amazing gifts, things I still love and use.  We were so very blessed! Allen and I decided that we would take our gift cards and put them towards the mixer of my dreams.  Well lo and behold the very LAST gift I got to open at our wedding was A BRIGHT RED MACK DADDY KITCHEN AID MIXER!!!!!!!  OOO my wedding day was the best day of my life because I married Allen AND I got the mixer!!!  My mother in laws boss (who is a billionaire) got it for us and surprised us at our wedding reception.  I love that guy.  My mixer stays out on my counter for all the world to see, I am so proud.  I use it for everything.  Cakes, cookies, it makes creamy mashed potatoes, breads, nothing is ever lumpy.  It was everything I dreamed of and more.  If you don't have a kitchen aid mixer you haven't lived, it will change your life.  Go buy one, if you can't afford it start saving.  Just do it, you won't regret it. 

Next on my list of near and dear kitchen items is my silver tea pitcher.  My Mimi made the worlds greatest sweet tea and she always put it in her silver tea pitcher.  Well now that silver pitcher is mine.  It special for so many reasons, I can't look at without memories flooding my mind.  It has a few dents and dings but I love it just the same.  And tea tastes better coming out of that pitcher, maybe its because of all the memories that pour out along with the tea.  I love my tea pitcher, I love my Mimi, I love my memories.  Iced SWEET tea and memories...does it get anymore southern then that?  I love the south. 

And I'll end with this one.  My Fancy cake plate.  I think everyone needs a fancy cake plate.  It makes any cake come alive!  You can put cookies on it, cakes, anything you want!  It adds class to your cooking.  I like classy cooking.  I got this as a wedding present from a sweet lady I went to church with.  Whenever I have to go to a covered dish, or take a cake somewhere it ALWAYS goes on my pretty cake plate.  I never leave it ANYWHERE.  If I go with it, it comes back home with me.  You can have the cake on it, that's all well and good.  But you can't keep my plate.  It's a rule. 

I'll share some more kitchen must haves along the way but that's all for now.  Have a great day, I think I will go stand in front of my cake plate and imagine there is a huge chunk of delicious cake on it.  The rule is I can't eat the cake, but no one said I couldn't dream about it!