kitchen heaven.

wow, what a day!  i have been going for 14 hours non stop and have a lot to show you guys. the majority of those hours were spent looking at various kitchen gadgets and utensils.

the fact that i would rather stay home on a saturday night than go out with my friends should be an indication of just how tired of being on my feet i am. or just of how lame i am, but let’s go with the former for my sake, k? 

this post is going to be extra photo heavy, so prepare yourself.  i think i better save some of it for another post so this one doesn’t take you until next wednesday to finish reading. serious.

today was totally devoted to spending time with one of my favorites: momma b!

i woke up bright and early at 7:30 (that is SO early for me on a saturday!) just so i could head up to my mom’s and join her for a bodyrock.tv workout. after the warmup, we did the 550 rep fat massacre and it was SO fun. i am really proud of my mom. she can definitely hang when it comes to hardcore workouts.

this particular workout needs NO equipment whatsoever. if you are wondering how to get a great workout at home with nothing but your body weight, do this workout!

after our workout i headed home, cleaned up and cleaned house. i also had one of the most delicious protein smoothies of my life, but i am going to save those details for another post.

my mom picked me up and we were on a mission! my parents gave me & marshall a hanging ceiling pot rack from christmas, but we hadn’t exactly got around to picking one out yet. talk about procrastination.

we had two kitchen stores in mind to check for said pot rack. two kitchen stores, might i add, that i had never been to. the horror. this is particularly tragic because of how absolutely amazing the stores are.

first up: gygi which is located at 300 west 3500 south in salt lake.

right when we walked in the door i knew we were going to be there for at least an hour. this place was HUGE. it was love at first sight. the FIRST thing i spotted was an array of owl things!

i resisted. i already have two sets of owl salt & pepper shakers. yeah.

you may or may not know that i have a ridiculous obsession with mini things. well, i get that from my mom, because she loves them, too. you can imagine how giddy we were over these tiny gadgets:

it’s the little things.

literally.

baby colorful french presses!

turns out, we are just as enamored by the jumbo things as we are with the mini things. who knew?! we got a big kick out of these GIANT stock pots:

and you better believe they had GIANT spoons to use with the pots.

wait, no, that one is not big enough.. but this one is!

i love how you can see the excitement on her face.

the giant things didn’t stop there. here are a few other finds..

potato masher.

wait.. another potato masher.. decisions, decisions..

might as well just go with this enormous whisk.

that thing is huge! so is this bar of white chocolate. i wonder how long it would take to eat?

moving on.. more fun things we saw (but resisted buying)..

cups~

a way cool avocado knife and an equally as cool PB+J spreader knife thingy.

butter boy! he butters corn. just so you know.

6 quart ice cream maker. for those really lonely nights.

moving into the food section.. extract HEAVEN! they had the same kind that the lovely erica sent me awhile back.

GALLON of vanilla extract! only $50.

any size container of xagave.. fun fact: i was published in their cookbook!

this wall of sprinkles made me think of jessica and deb.

SPICE CITY.

cupcake platter.. that i don’t need, but i want.

my mom snagged these cute easter chick s+p shakers.. she is a collector of shakers!

oh, yeah, look.. a pot rack! isn’t that what we were shopping for to begin with? just so you know, i didn’t snag this one that was in the shape of a rolling pin.. but it was pretty sweet.

one last thing i resisted was a donut pan. after seeing mama pea’s recipe for vegan donuts, i was convinced i had to buy one.. but not for $20.

we made our few purchases and said farewell to what may be my new favorite place.

next up was another kitchen store that was new to me: spoons n spice which is on 4700 south 900 east in salt lake.

it was yet another glorious kitchen heaven.

julie, this one’s for you. popcorn city!

more mini things.. a teeny tiny cast iron pan!

more huge things.. not a cookie spatula, but a jumbo cookie SHOVEL. yes, please.

too many cute dishes to handle.

spice central.

i wish i needed a honey stick thingamajig. but i don’t.

why is le creuset so pricey? dangit.

coolest guacamole bowl ever.

free sample of snickerdoodle coffee? don’t mind if i do!

SO MANY COFFEES.

and candies!

oh. and guess what we found?

a pot rack! yippee!! i will give you guys a better look once it is hanging in my kitchen.

mission accomplished.

let’s eat.

we went to whole foods for some salad bar action.

i loaded up with veggies, tofu, chicken and a bit of quinoa.

my date!

after lunch we did some grocery shopping at whole foods and then my mom dropped me off at home. it was such a fun day!

apparently i hadn’t had enough fun, because as soon as i got home i left again. i hit up costco for some essentials (chobani, cottage cheese, eggs, produce) and then TJ maxx and ross for some total NON essentials. i actually went to check if they had tera’s whey protein powder because marshall is going through it so quickly.. but of course i left with no protein powder and lots of fun treasures.

i will spare you a photo of the many groceries i bought today, but i do want to show you all the fun kitchen things i ended up buying!

i picked up the metal bowl for $3 at gygi. i am going to use it when i need a double boiler. my excuse is that a double boiler was $40 and this was $3. i had to have it. i also got the grapefruit spoons at gygi and this odd looking tool:

it is used to break up ground turkey/beef/chicken/whathaveyou. we used it tonight and it works really well!

i got the ravioli/empanada/calzone press thingies at spoons n spice.. only $7 for all 4!

chomp.

you know i couldn’t resist this $3 owl plate at TJ maxx. i am in love with it. for the record, i did pass up the matching owl bowl and owl mug. pick your battles.

i used my new owl plate for a much needed dinner. marshall made his famous spaghetti sauce and i ate it on top of some spaghetti squash alongside a big pile of asparagus.

the best part was seeing the owl’s cute face after i was done eating. i am such a weirdo.

oh. and you may have noticed the donut pan in the photo up there.

it was at ross. and it was $7!

it is a miniature donut pan.. but we all know that i love mini things.

it was meant to be.

Q~

what was the last thing you bought for your kitchen.. big or small?

xo. janetha g.