home life

You guys, I don’t know for how long I have been talking about my desire to own a KitchenAid mixer. It’s been on my (Christmas) wishlist for at least 2-3 years. We never had counter-space in our old apartment for it and it’s not exactly a cheap purchase, so it’s not something I would have bought on a whim, but I promised myself that as soon as we moved to a bigger place (with a bigger kitchen), I’d look into getting one, especially since I’ve been baking (bread and other things) pretty consistently for a while now.

Well, I am living in a bigger place with more counter space in the kitchen now. Also, I am an adult and I can make such decision (come on, it has to be good for something!)

Then, my birthday came around and I told some people (who asked what I wished for for my birthday) that I was saving up for a KitchenAid mixer and they were more than happy to pitch in.

So, I’ve been looking for a good deal on the Artisan 5quart mixer for the last few weeks (because I know that you don’t have to pay full retail price for it, if you keep your eyes open), although it’s been pretty hard to stay away from the “buy now” button. But I think my patience has paid off and I scored a pretty good deal last week.

First, I had a hard time committing (because there are so many different versions and I couldn’t even decide which color I wanted – there are so many to choose from!) but now, this beauty is mine.

After coupon code, rebate, and cash back the KitchenAid Mixer – which usually sells for $350+tax – came out to $160+tax.* I think that’s a pretty good bargain. A bargain, that not even “deal squad”(a website that helps you find the best deals on the Internet) couldn’t beat. (Maybe I should start working for them. Just an idea.)

I really wanted the one with the glass bowl, but it was $50 more and I figured that I can purchase a glass bowl separately (with another rebate + the earned Kohls Cash) later.

~~I cannot wait to put this beauty to work.~~ It’s so much fun to watch it work! I used to have a flimsy plastic version of this and it just wasn’t sturdy enough to deal with the dense and heavy bread dough. The appliance would skip about the countertop, if I didn’t keep a steady hand on it. Now, I can mix ingredients with both hands free. No need to hold on to the appliance or (try to) move the hand-mixer myself and it’s really glorious!

Sure, it was a splurge, but one for which I had waited for quite some time and that I know will make me so happy in the long run!

Have you splurged on a kitchen gadget before? It’s amazing what we get excited about as grown-ups, am I right?

*Here’s how I did it. I stacked multiple promo codes: 30% off coupon code, $5 off a purchase of $25+ code, I chose pickup at store (saved some taxes and the shipping surcharge). I sent in a mail-in rebate: $30. I applied some Kohls Cash: $15. I earned some cashback: 6% cashback through Ebates ($15), $40 Kohls Cash.

At the beginning of May, I planted my little (potted) vegetable garden on our balcony. I am a total newbie to gardening, but I thought ‘just the heck with it, I am just giving this thing a try‘.

The first couple of weeks not much happened at all. I was checking the plants every night and I was a little “meh” about the whole thing when I didn’t see much progress. I didn’t really know what I expected (I know that it takes longer to grow plants than just a couple of weeks), but I wanted to see something more than was there. Well, at least the leaves got visibly bigger after the first week! And the basil seeds sprouted!

Then, in week 3, two strawberries! You can’t imagine my excitement! The pepper seeds still hadn’t done anything though.

BUT: I guess, I was just a little impatient after all, because this is what our little garden looks like only 4 weeks later.

As you can see, the plants have grown A LOT. (The two plants on the left were added to my little balcony garden last week, mainly because they were already showing blossoms when I bought them which meant, I was going to see faster results. What can I say, I just needed to see that something was happening.)

The pepper seeds sprouted, the basil leaves are growing. I can spot some basil leaves that actually look like basil

The (younger) tomato plant finally has some blossoms.

And the (older) tomato plant is already bearing fruits.

The strawberries developed more blossoms.

And the squash is showing this… which I hope will turn into blossoms/squash soon.

I gotta say: plants in itself are pretty cool, but plants that produce vegetables/fruits?

Just wow.

I mean, of course, I knew how vegetables grow and where they come from, but seeing it happen literally before your own eyes? It just makes you marvel at mother nature all over again.

So far, this little experiment of mine is turning out quite well. My heart is happy.

Daily life | Artisan Kitchenaid splurge

Potted vegetable garden: an update