Never Too Old for Toys!

 As I get older, I think I have kind of reduced my "toys". Over the years, I have had and enjoyed lots of small kitchen appliances that were specifically designed for one purpose-like a bread maker, pasta maker, etc. I have to admit that I had fun using those things over the years but, once the novelty wore off, they were mostly just large things to store...and, since we all know I have so many things as it is, storage is at a premium and, little by little, I have kind of whittled those things down in number.

And so, I surprised even myself when I ordered a new air fryer/toaster oven.

In order to get this where I wanted it, I did have to put my KitchenAid mixer down in a cabinet and I'm not sure how I am going to feel about that the next time I want to bake but, I think I will use this more often than the mixer gets used these days. We shall see. Daughter #1 has the same one and as I was down at her house for the week, I saw how often it was in use and I was sold.

I love roasted veggies and this is supposed to be the way to go in a hurry. Daughter #3 had passed along one of her original air fryers to me and I wasn't a fan of that because of the limited amount of room and the small size of each batch. This thing is larger-still not as large as three jelly roll pans full that I do often but, also a lot easier and faster if I just want one portion...so, we shall see. It also does a great job of toasting and reheating-especially pizza so the crust stays crisp-so I think I am going to enjoy it.

My next "toy" was one of my Mother's Day gifts from my girls. I have to admit that it is something I probably would never have gotten myself although now that I know that it makes the kind of ice I am obsessed with-as well as the kind my dentist doesn't mind me chomping on-I am 100% sold on this thing. I will say that I am happy I have a place for it other than my kitchen counter. First of all, it takes up a fair amount of room. Secondly, it can be a bit loud. And, lastly, it can cause a bit of a water dripping situation each time you fill it and that would have been an issue with my wood floors. I ended up putting it on top of the small refrigerator that I have in the sunroom. It's still plenty easy to get to and with the slate floors out there, I don't have to even think about drippage. Lol

Let's just say that I honestly don't know how I lived without this thing! If I am sitting down, I am munching ice!!

And my latest obsession is still the bench that I bought from Decor Steals. I showed you the pictures when I was assembling it and where I put it and, honestly, I have really not done another thing consciously to it since then...and yet, every time I walk past it I sigh because it somehow brings me such joy. I really need to think about how to add some design. Right now it has my Halloween book stack that I just sat there because I was walking around the house with nowhere else to put it and the beautiful throw that daughter #1 got me but doesn't fit perfectly in with the Halloween color scheme just thrown on as well. Let me just say that there is other Halloween decor in this room (that I will share soon) so that sad little book stack isn't totally out of theme. Lol

That's all I've got for today but I will be back tomorrow. The roofer guy is supposed to be here at 8 a.m. This is not the first time I have heard that so I'm not exactly holding my breath but I will be ready just in case...we shall see!! Stay safe and stay tuned.