Sharing Sunday - still satisfied with toys

Today will be all about sharing all my not so new and new toys.  One of them has not even arrived but will be delivered tomorrow. I am so excited because I know that cooking & baking will never be the same. Each of these items have a story and I wish to share them with you.  There is no order with regards to the best or my #1 favorite, as they have different use and provides different level of satisfaction. 

KEYBOARD - Yamaha Claviers Portatone Keyboard, a 2007 Christmas gift from Gino. I believe I have mentioned this in my other blog. I never opened the box until before Christmas this year.  I felt very guilty because this was a gift that I told Gino to return because it was expensive because at that time he was not working.  I still have not forgiven my self for hurting his feelings after I said some words.  I did not get a chance to say I'm sorry.  So now I am learning to play this keyboard and am trying different songs and I know he is probably looking over saying something like - "see, I knew you would like it". It gives me joy but also sadness because he cannot hear me play "Lean on Me" or "As tears go by".

12 STRING GUITAR - Ibanez acoustic - again a weird story for my 2009 Christmas Gift from Jeff. The first one he got was a also a 12 string Epiphone but made by Gibson. I used it once and then stored it in the case and the next time I took it out of the case, the neck had a big crack and the strings all lose. So we took it back and since it was still under warranty, they were willing to replace it because they new that some Gibson guitar are very fragile. Make the long story short, I now have the Ibanez 12 string and sounds great. Every time I trim my finger nails short, I would take out this guitar and play some old song. Lots of reminiscing.

SEWING MACHINE - Brother Project Runway Limited Edition - 2010 Christmas gift from Jeff. I bought my first sewing machine the year my daughter was born. I kept it all those year until last year when I move to SJC.  Jeff suggested that I just leave it with someone who would make use of it as it is too heavy to ship.  I left it with my friend and co-worker who was very interested in doing some tailoring. I hope he is enjoying it. This new machine is very quiet with a lot of bells and whistle. I haven't even read the manuals but have used it for a couple of projects. Here's the sample which were my Christmas gift to Jeff's sister in law and a cousin.

8 placemats, 2 hot plate holder, 2 hand towel.    Set of bath and hand towels (2)

LUCKY POTS & PANS - the name of the grocery store that we go to is named LUCKY. I guess you know why I am shopping there. A couple of months ago they started the promotion of collecting Lucky sticker for every $10 you spend and in return you can exchange it for really nice pots and pans. Since I did not have a wok, that was the first item I got.  Then I was able to save more and got a small and a large frying pan. The promotion will be ending next month and I will have to decide my 4th piece to get.  My choice will be the small pot with cover and will need only 16 more stickers to get this last piece. I love using them when I cook because they are non-stick, regulates the heat, goes in the oven and every easy to clean.

KEURIG- the individual coffee maker with a wide variety of flavors. This is actually Jeff's toy. He received this as a Christmas gift from his mother. We have been using it since boxing day and we really really enjoy our coffee. Sometimes we get really creative by adding stuff and spiking it up. These are some of our favorite flavors: French Vanilla, Butter Toffee, Donut Shop, Gingerbread, Holiday Blend, Golden French Toast. 

These are what we would like to try next: Cinnamon Pastry, Raspberry Chocolate Truffle, Mocha Nut Fudge, Rain Forrest Nut, Creme Brulee, Mudslide, Jamaica Me Crazy, and Pomegranate Berry Fusion Tea.

Jeff's milk chocolate hot coco with whipped creme and chocolate sugar

DOUBLE OVEN & MICROWAVE - made by General Electric - Profile Series.  Jeff did all the searching and reading a bunch of reviews before making the decision to purchase these 2 items on line. There is smooth surface with 5 burner with one being the warmer. The oven has a small one and a big one both have windows. The current stove we have has no window and you can just imagine that if you were baking something and you are not allowed to open the door and take a peek. The microwave as you can see will be just directly above it and it will also comes with a built in hood. Installation will be easy for the oven but the microwave will have to be built it to the existing cabinets. As Jeff is a very good with his tools, he will be doing this himself on the weekend and you will see the end result on this blog. At this time, I can only show you a photo and would not be able to give a review because this item won't be delivered until tomorrow.