Easter Exhaustion

The Easter Beagle (Chihuahua)

It's Saturday of Easter weekend and I am tired. I have been mentally preparing for hosting Easter dinner for weeks. No lie. I have spreadsheets, grocery and to-do lists, recipes dog-eared (just kidding- I would never dog-ear anything; that's what sticky notes are for). Despite being an introvert and general homebody extraordinaire, I love entertaining in my home. Something about planning a menu that will appeal to multiple people, cleaning and tidying, and playing in my kitchen just calms me. Close friends would probably argue that I enjoy the preparation more than the actual event. They would be correct.

This year we're paring down the menu as to avoid total meltdowns in the world's smallest kitchen and observe some semblance of a budget. Also, I delegated a few of the dishes I don't really enjoy preparing to family members who offered to help. And while it's hard for me to relinquish control, I am finding that while I'm tired, I'm not stressed. My mother and cousin are coming into town this afternoon to help me prepare and I'm not really sure what there's left to do.

A dancing mixer

Now if you asked me yesterday morning around eight o'clock how my stress level was, I might have responded with incoherent blubbering. I was running around the world's smallest kitchen, trying to prepare for a mid-morning egg dyeing session with my dear friend Elizabeth and her sweet baby Isabella, mixing bagel dough (because I can't get enough), and doing laundry. My beloved Kitchenaid Stand Mixer was acting suspiciously dance-y. The tilt-head would not stay in the locked position while kneading my bagel dough. It was quite literally dancing all over my countertop. I was panicked.

I called Kitchenaid Customer Service. Guys, let's be real. Calling customer service these days typically requires A) several hours, free from adult responsibilities, B) the ability to process heavily accented customer service reps, and C) patience. I have none of these things on a normal basis. So when I dialed, I was anxious. But thankfully the rep who took my call was efficient and patient with me as I whined about my pre-Easter debacle. She started troubleshooting by asking me to make sure the beaters weren't hitting the bowl. A simple test with an easy fix you can see here. The problem? I went to perform the test and the MIXER WOULDN'T TURN ON.

"Mom?" I whined into my phone later. "I think my mixer's dead!"

"You broke it on purpose so you could buy a new one" she surmised.

While I did not purposefully break my stand mixer, it's true that I'd been researching a replacement with a bigger motor. This was my chance. The only dilemma was that more powerful option didn't come in hot pink. Cue the devastation and multiple panicked phone calls to family and friends. Everyone agreed I needed to consider power needs first, and color options second.

"But the Artisan model comes in pink!" I pleaded.

My new baby

Cut to the end: the Williams Sonoma Outlet had this one on sale for $316. (People who don't know much about Kitchenaid Stand Mixers, please know that this is is a freakishly good deal). So after egg dyeing, I trekked down to the outlet, tore myself away from the hot pink display model, and purchased the Professional Model in cobalt blue.

It was the right decision. She's so pretty, sitting on my kitchen counter.

I'll be hanging out in the kitchen today making these strawberry cupcakes and this Kahlua bundt cake. (Yes, work peeps, there will be leftovers at work on Monday.) I'd love to hear about your kitchen disasters and strategies for avoiding meltdowns. Happy Easter, friends.  -Jill