espresso.

So during the couple of years of having an espresso machine I have always hemmed and hawed about whether or not to splurge for a burr grinder. I couldn't ever rationalize it (it's funny what we can rationalize from a spending standpoint ... ) so never got one until I had a build-up of Amazon gift cards and realized that it would only cost me the tax and shipping - I splurged.

What of course is funny is that the day I got it we went to the annual Lake Tapps Island garage sales and, uhh, the first garage sale I found a flippin' burr grinder for $5! Go figure.

But I kept the one I got from Amazon and am trying to figure out the perfect grind/tamping method to pull that perfect shot.

new old mixer.

So on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon we decided we would take an adventure and bike up to Milton to the Garage Sale Store. Yes, in Milton, WA there is a garage sale store. It is only open on Saturdays from 9-3 (no earlies!) and was rumored to having been shut down. Well, the rumors were false and we had a fine time biking up to the top of the hill (which I thoroughly enjoyed after so much biking around on flat ground).

Anyways, perusing the many aisles I came across this mixer which I immediately took a liking too (if for no other reason the chrome was cool and a KitchenAid version of this would be at least $300) ~

I turned it on and it worked through all the speeds perfectly, and it comes complete with a little wind-up timer. I did not already own a stand mixer–just a crappy hand mixer that I bought years ago at Kmart or something like that. I know the whole 'retro' thing can be taken too far but I do not think I have crossed that line. And this one–like the fan–is just cool.

Oh, and it was ten bucks.

Then it was just a matter of fitting this in my pannier and making the bike ride back down the hill and home. No problem. I love it.