"Julie's Favorite Things"

I have two words this Christmas season. 1. Parchment paper and  2. standing mixer.  O.k. so that is four words, but you get the idea.  For years I've watched Martha Stewart and quietly loved her and hated her, all at the same time.  Did I really need to be so detailed, I thought? And, why does she always look so relaxed as she belts out a two page cake recipe?   I always justified my lack of neatness and creativity to the fact that she 'did all of that as a full time job'.  I lived in the real world , I couldn't possibly pull off the things she did or made, and I surely didn't need a fancy KitchenAid or waste my money on paper. Well, I broke down the other day and thought I'd try the parchment paper, just to see if it'd really save me time and frustation.  Yes ma'am!  How wonderful to not burn my cookies or have to scrap the pans.  And, Brian brought home a Kitchen Aid standing mixer a few weeks ago, because he knew I'd talked about wanting one.  WOW!  I can't believe I didn't register for this thing, when we got married!  It was so nice .  I could actually leave it on and walk to the other counter for a minute and I never broke a sweat or got a cramp in my hand. Glorious day in the Borges kitchen!
So ladies, if you've been holding out just to save a few dollars or think you're a "pioneer woman" and don't need a fancy pants standing mixer, like I did.  ( Or, if you are already a kitchen diva and I've been using these wonderful items for years).   Then, give yourself a break and just do it.  If we lived in a third world country, that would be one thing.  But, 'hey, we're here and might as well enjoy a few luxuries in life.  Don't ya think?