Choosing to buy quality over discount stock

Now that I am starting over for the first time in over 10 years my mind my mind is focusing more an more on what I want for my new kitchen.  I am done with buying cheap things and just making due with them.  My parents invested in a very nice and pretty expensive set of pots about 15 years ago and they are still in fantastic condition.  It makes me think of my dinky set that I just got rid of that I had for only three years and it was already on its last leg.  So how much money did I really save by buying a cheap set only to have it need to be replaced in three years? It seems like such a common problem that we get ourselves into when we buy cheap on the front end but end up paying more on the back end because we are constantly needing to fix or buy replacements.  I know why it is, it is because when it comes time to need to buy those new pans or that knife set it is hardly ever during a time that we are sitting in an abundance of money.  But the thought has challenged me to try and think differently.  Can I make small sacrifices in other areas to save up the money?  Can I start off small and prioritize my purchases and fill my kitchen with nice things?  It is a challenge, especially with a new baby on the way.  But a challenge that I am going to be facing soon, whether I am ready or not.

What are tricks you have come up with to save up money to buy nicer things for your kitchen?

How to spend under $20 on a perfect romantic Valentines dinner

Funny thing about holidays like Valentines day it is a holiday created by retailers to sell their products and we accept it as a social norm to treat it as the day we celebrate the ones we love.  Now don't get me wrong, I think it is wonderful to set aside a day to celebrate those we love.  I just think it is silly that we buy into this strange list of rules that says we must do it on this day and we must do it in a particular way.  Buying your significant other a gift, or telling them that you love them with a card shouldn't be limited to one holiday in the year.  My husband and I have never celebrated Valentines day and as I am reading more about how much people spend every year I must say we will probably continue not celebrating it.  Retailers and restaurants push for higher sales on this day through almost guilt like advertisements.  And restaurants, well don't expect that to be the highlight of your night if you don't like waiting.  The average restaurant sees its dinner rush swell to over double and will leave you and your significant other waiting a long time to even just sit down.  Again I will say there is nothing wrong if you want to choose to celebrate Valentines day, I think it is just also important to not get so caught up in the marketing that you feel you have to spend a lot of money.  Instead of an expensive dinner try cooking up a private romantic dinner at home.  If you have kids arrange with either a family member to watch them or if you have friends with kids arrange to watch their kids for one evening in exchange for them to watch yours.  This will give you both the opportunity to have a quiet moment alone.  For my husband and myself we choose a day last week to celebrate, we just found out that we are going to be having a little girl so our day was a celebration of our love and what that love created.  For under $20 we had an incredible dinner that we would have had to pay at least $40 dollars for at a restaurant.  Just remember saying I love you doesn't have to be through spending a lot of money, it is those quiet unexpected moments that speak the loudest.  Offer to be the one that cleans up the kitchen while your spouse sits down with a glass of wine.  Or secretly arranging for a kid free evening just with the two of you.  And don't forget the other 364 days of the year.

Chef'N Palm Peeler-best peeler you will ever buy

Have you ever come across something that made your life so much easier that you just wanted to tell everyone?  I don't know about you but I have these memories of leaning over a sink during the holidays peeling potatoes or apples for my dad.  We had one of those awful stainless steel peelers that after a while started hurting my little hands.  It would take forever and after it was all done my hands would itch and hurt.  My dislike for peeling things continued into my adulthood.  I wouldn't even buy regular carrots because I didn't want to have to peel them, despite my husband not liking them I would buy the bags of baby carrots to make my life easier.  But one day I came across the Chef'N Palm Peeler and it all changed.

In my opinion Chef'N has some of the best kitchen utensils out there and this is just one of several products that I have personally purchased and love.  The Chef'N Palm Peeler slips over one of your fingers and sits in the palm of your hand.  The movement is so natural and quick; I find that jobs that once took several minutes now take seconds.  There are a lot of kitchen tools out there and not all of them are actually useful.  I mean seriously who actually uses a salad spinner consistently enough to justify buying it.  But this little peeler is seriously the investment I have made so far.