All I Want for Christmas (and my Birthday)

In spite of my recent Brilliant Things post, I wanted to write a more personal post about what I really want for my birthday (today) and for Christmas. Not because I expect anyone to buy me these things, but because I think it is always interesting to see what other people want and why. It is insightful and I hope you’ll join me by commenting with your top wish list items. You may even be surprised at what I long to include in my life.

A New Mixer
After working on perfecting recipes for my Bake Knit Sew book for the last year, my hand mixer is showing its age. One of the beaters cracked so it hits against the other, catching and knocking them both from the mixer base during use. The mixer itself was a Freecycle hand-me-down six years ago, so replacing it was in the cards. I was saving to buy a proper stand mixer like the Kitchenaid 5KSM5BER K5 Heavy Duty Mixer, 315 Watt, Red, but in that time I realised that there is only room in my heart for one red KitchenAid mixer and that is Betty, the red Kitchen-Aid stand mixer my mother gave me for my first wedding anniversary. And with her not able to bake with me anymore, that mixer is especially precious. Thankfully, Betty is being taken care of by my mother-in-law. I had considered bringing it to Ireland, but with the currency differences, it risks frying her engine. And, for the most part, Kitchen-Aid mixers are prohibitively expensive in Ireland. Though I did consider this KitchenAid K45SS Classic Stand Mixer, White or even the shiny red Andrew James Electric Stand Mixer (although the Silver is beautiful too), so maybe I’ll come around to that in time. But a hand mixer is always practical, whether for mixing a cake, making eggs frothy, or whipping cream. Which is why I landed on wanting this beautiful combo Breville SHM2 Twin Hand and Stand Mixer. It takes up minimal counter space and offers versatility.

A New Pancake Pan
When my husband and I got engaged, one of the presents we received was a fabulously large flat pan that we’ve used to make omelettes, quesadillas, and pancakes for over eight years. It has cooked meals on two continents and now I feel like having a second pan is wise. So, I’m eyeing an equally basic hardworking pan, like the Kitchen Craft 24 cm Crepe/ Pancake Pan. It can’t go in the oven like our current one, but we rarely did that anyway. Update: I got it!

Someone to clean my home
Seriously, it is astoundingly difficult to maintain a two-bedroom home. Then add a home office, a three-year-old, a dust/fibre/mold allergy, and a dislike for dishes so you can imagine what my place looks like when I’m busy or having bad allergies. And October and November are my bad allergy/asthma times of year so the last few weeks have literally dumped me on the doorstep of the holiday season wheezing and tired.

Of course, I have my eye on a few other things too. Listed over onElfster