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Monday, November 25, 2013

Favorite Things: Domestic Gift

Another favorite things post!  Read the first one and why I'm doing these posts here.

My Kitchen Aid stand mixer is the focus this week.  It is one of my favorite things, but there's a story that goes along with it.
 
A thing of beauty is a joy forever.


I love my beautiful mixer.  I love to bake.  I've done posts about it that you can find here and here.  This tool makes a big difference in the way things come together.  My kids will usually come running if they hear it fire up. It's like cats and the electric can opener effect.

The year my husband and I got engaged was the year we spent our first Christmas together.  We met in January, got engaged in July, and married in June.  Fast?  Yes.  When you know, you know.  We've been married eleven years, and I've never been happier.  Anyway, Christmas was a big deal that year for us because it was our first.  One day while we were talking about gifts for each other, I warned him - no domestic presents.  I saw his face fall.  He confessed he had already bought me a Kitchen Aid mixer.  He knew I loved to bake and wanted one.  I felt about an inch tall and was ashamed of being such a brat.  It was a wonderful, thoughtful gift, and I had ruined the surprise.  He offered to take it back, but I wouldn't let him.  I really did want it.  It just never occurred to me he would think to go out and buy me one.  I guess I didn't realize how close he was paying attention.

He ended up giving it to me that night.  This worked out wonderfully since I had yet to make any Christmas cookies.  I had only had a hand me down hand mixer before this.  I couldn't believe how much easier and better this worked.  Professional quality is worth the money, it seems.  Since then I've used it for cakes, both cheese and carrot, mashed potatoes, bread, and countless batches of cookies. 

It seems silly to me now that I didn't want something domestic from him that first Christmas.  Part of what I loved about him was that he was so family and home oriented.  I guess I just wasn't quite ready for him to think of me that way.  Or maybe for me to think of myself that way?  Twelve years later and I'm completely comfortable with both him seeing me this way and seeing myself this way.

Incidentally, he did go out and buy me another present.  Diamond stud earrings and a diamond necklace.  I love those too, but the Kitchen Aid has had a lot more use.  I think of my mixer on the rare occasions I wear the jewelry.

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