As an amateur chef, there is nothing that I like more than finding a new, exciting, and functional little gadget or gizmo for my kitchen. When it comes to stores like Bed, Bath, and Beyond, or even Target, it's best to keep me away, because I can get lost for hours in the kitchen section trying to talk myself into or out of buying something new to play with in the kitchen. Having grown up in a large family of chefs, I'm pretty accustomed to having all kinds of kitchen supplies and tools all over the place at my disposal, but since I've moved away from home and gotten a kitchen of my own, I've had to build my own pantry of gadgets slowly but surely. I say slowly but surely, because I have no doubt that my inventory of gizmos will continue to grow, but the slowly part is what I was thinking about when I decided to write this particular blog post. The reason that I will have to continue to buy my kitchen toys slowly is because frankly, they are just way too expensive to buy all at one time. As with any type of specialty item, high-end kitchen gadgets really end up costing a pretty penny. For those of you out there who haven't had the chance to cook and prepare your meals with high-end kitchen supplies, you probably don't really know what you're missing. You might be happy using your dollar store paring knife to do all the cutting that you have to. Be it vegetables, chicken, or butter, I know several people who own one all-purpose knife for all their "cutting" needs. Spoons for ice cream scoops, that good ole paring knife to zest a lemon or lime, and a wooden spoon in place of a stand mixer...these are all kinds of ways to cut corners on the cheap in the kitchen. Not this guy though. I need my Wusthof, Henckels, and Chicago Cutlery knives, my ice cream showel, lemon zester, and of course my artisan kitchen aid stand mixer. These are essentials in my kitchen, if only to mention a few. Sometimes when I'm feeling a little down, depressed, or even overworked, I like to reward myself with a little bit of retail therapy, and that's when I usually return home with some new (likely expensive) kitchen gadget. I'm even starting to run out of places to keep all the kitchen things I have...I just live in a little apartment with a little kitchen after all. I just don't know what it is about the kitchen, but I feel like that is my domain in my apartment. I'm very at home there, and all I can think about for when I own my own house at some point in the future is that that house better have a huge kitchen for all my things. Since I feel so attached to my kitchen, I don't feel as badly about spending a lot of money on my various kitchen gadgets. Part of the fun is, seeing as though my family is full of chefs and food connoseuirs, a lot of the birthday and Christmas gifts that I end up getting are for my kitchen. If these gifts aren't kitchen gadgets, they will end up being one of my other guilty pleasures...Amazon dot com gift certificates so that I can go and buy more books to expand my academic library. I guess that everyone has to have their little thing that they like to (and don't mind) spending lots of money buying. Some people buy video games, DVDs, CDs, stereo equipment, and even knick knacks. I, on the other hand, love my kitchen gadgets and my books.

What about all of you? What are your little money spending vices? Are you one of those people who spends a large chunk of your paycheck on collectibles? Maybe your paycheck burns a hole in your pocket until you can go out to the mall and buy yourself a new t-shirt and jeans every other week. Maybe you're somewhat of a foodie like I am and you prefer to drain your checking account and indulge in a fancy meal from time to time to reward yourself for a job well done. Whatever your particular brand of spending poison, I'd love to hear about it. Drop me a line and tell me how you like to reward yourself for working hard and getting your work done. Maybe even some of you like to troll around the kitchen section of stores like do, or maybe you prefer books. There has to be some others with similar interests out there! Let me know who you are, and we can chat it up. I look forward to hearing from you! GoOd NiGhT!