Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary to Us (and a Kitchen Aid Giveaway!)
Danny and I were married in an apple orchard in rural Quebec exactly ten years ago today. It was a late spring that year; the apple trees shimmered in green, but withheld their blossoms for warmer days.
Although the sun shone, it was a cool day, but we only felt the warmth of our young love and the thrill of the moment we had been anticipating for years.
My dad walked me down the freshly-mown aisle of thick spring grass, while my sister-in-law, Laura, played Vivaldi’s ‘Spring’ in a violin solo. Before family and friends, in a simple ceremony, we were wed.
Today we will return to the very same orchard with our three little ones in tow, to picnic on the grass, play tag among the trees, and reminisce over our wedding day.
Later tonight, Danny and I will slip away for a dinner on the town where we will sip champagne, slurp oysters, and forget for a few hours that we are responsible adults with a family, car payments, mortgage and the like.
My Favorite Wedding Present
It was a long-time dream of mine to marry Danny in an orchard. On one glorious day, ten years ago, my dream came true.
On that day, four of my chef-girlfriends pooled their hard-earned money and gave me a 5-Qt tilt head KitchenAid stand mixer in a beautiful cherry red. It was my absolute favorite wedding gift – and my most prized possession in the kitchen for years.
Over the last ten years I have put that little mixer through the paces. It kneaded the bread I baked for my new husband, it mixed the peanut butter cookies for my pregnancy cravings, and it beat the batter for my children’s many birthday cakes. That KitchenAid mixer has been my rock.
Due to a growing family, a blogging business, and my love of batch cooking, I have recently found myself in need of something a little bigger and more powerful that that wedding present, but still that trusty mixer I love. Something like this…
That, my friends, is the KitchenAid 7 Qt Bowl Lift Commercial Stand Mixer. Isn’t she marvelous?
KitchenAid USA was awesome enough to send me this mixer to review (and giveaway!) and it has not disappointed. I get the impression that the 1.3HP motor I am now working with is easily going to last me another ten years of marriage – and ten more after that.
Strong and sturdy, this mixer has everything going for it. Not only is it the most powerful model to date, but it is also the most quiet – a feature I can appreciate when Clara is dozing in her swing in the kitchen while I am baking.
My favorite feature? That generous 7-quart bowl of polished stainless steel! It can take on a double batch of whole-wheat bread, rising included, as pictured below. It handles smaller jobs equally well.
Included with the KitchenAid 7 Qt Bowl Lift Stand Mixer are the 11-wire Elliptical Whip, coated metal Flat Beater, Power Knead Dough Hook, and a Pouring Shield. Guess what? All the accessories are dishwasher safe, ideal for me, as the baby is usually just waking when it comes time for kitchen clean-up.
Aside from those attachments, you can also accessorize your KitchenAid mixer with super fun – super practical – accessories such as the Ice Cream Maker or the Food Grinder. Think of the fun you could have with those!
7-Qt Stand Mixer Giveaway from KitchenAid!
** This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Julia Janzen!!!**
So, today we celebrate the occasion – with each other, with our children, and with you! In honor of our 10-year wedding anniversary, I’ve partnered with Kitchen Aid USA to bring you an amazing giveaway.
One Simple Bites reader will win a 7-Quart Bowl-Lift Residential Stand Mixer from KitchenAid with an estimated retail value of $899!
You can even pick your choice of colors—candy apple red, medallion silver, black storm, or white.
Everyone has three chances to win. Here’s how: GIVEAWAY ENDED.
1. Comment on this post, answering this question: What’s your favorite thing to bake? (If you’re reading this via email, you must click over to the post to comment.)
2. For an extra entry, follow both Simple Bites and KitchenAid on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway. Make sure you include both our Twitter handles and this post’s URL. Your tweet can be something like this:
“Win a 7-quart stand mixer from @KitchenAidUSA on @simplebites! ERV $900: http://bit.ly/JVAjbc .”
3. For an additional extra entry, you may also ‘like’ KitchenAid and Simple Bites on Facebook—then come back and leave an additional comment to tell me you’ve done so. (You don’t need to leave an additional comment on Facebook.)
Fine Print: This giveaway is open to US residents only, provided for you by Kitchen Aid USA.
Disclaimer: Kitchen Aid provided me with a stand mixer to review. I was not compensated for this post. All opinions about Kitchen Aid are my own, formed in my experiences with their product.
This giveaway will end Tuesday, May 22, at 11:59 PM. Winner will be announced on this post on Wednesday, May 23. Good luck to all!
i love baking whole wheat banana bread for my kids
I ‘like’ KitchenAid and Simple Bites on FB
Death by chocolate cake!
I love making double chocolate chip cookies
I follow both on twitter and tweeted: https://twitter.com/#!/liznelson21502/status/204945519410290688
I like both on Facebook. AND….Happy Anniversary!
I love to bake chocolate chip cookies for my 2 girls!
I love to bake rhubarb millet muffins….Yum!
I love baking cakes for my family and friends!
I’ve liked KitchenAid and Simple Bites on Facebook! Thanks for sharing.
My favorite things to bake are muffins! I don’t have a standing mixer, but I really really wish I did.
I tweeted
I like both on fb
I tweeted and follow you and KA on Twitter. https://twitter.com/#!/Mom24_4evermom/status/204976303454162944
I “like” you and KA on FB.
My favorite thing to bake is blueberry muffins using blueberries out of our garden!
I love to bake good old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies.
I also “liked” Simple Bites on Facebook
I love making lemon muffins for quick breakfast on busy mornings!
Banana bread, and pizza….
I love baking cookies, all sorts!
I also liked on FB!
Oh, I would love to win this! I like to make cinnamon rolls. This would be a HUGE help. Please pick me.
I would so love to win this! I too have the tilt-head Kitchenaid, but with a growing family, doubling up batches of anything is starting to become necessary. My favorite thing to bake is hands-down…double chocolate chip cookies. I’d make triple chocolate chip cookies if I could find a recipe! : )
My favorite thing to bake? Oatmeal raisin cookies!
I just “liked” Kitchenaid on Facebook and have liked Simple Bites for awhile. : )
Chocolate Peanut Butter S’mores Bars!
I love to bake cake. Any kind, any time. Yum yum!
My favorite thing to bake (only because I love to eat it) is Better Than Sex Cake…..or if you’re one of my kid’s it’s known as Better than going to the zoo cake! 😉
I follow both of you on twitter (@melissashipman) and I tweeted the giveaway. https://twitter.com/#!/MelissaShipman/status/205000026303381504
I like you and kitchenaid on facebook. (@melissanicole)
I follow you and Kitchenaid on twitter (@My2Gs)
What’s your favorite thing to bake? Pound Cake
Breads, sweet and savory all kinds! Love to experiment.
I like you and kitchenaid on Facebook
I like fan pages for both
I love baking cookies. Easy and fast, and I can eat the first batch (well, sample) while the rest are are still baking.
I like both on FB
I follow both and tweet at https://twitter.com/#!/FlyDivaStyles/status/205001439087562754
I love to bake muffins for the family breakfast
Love making cookies for my kids & experimenting!
tuesdayef at aol dot com
I love to bake chocolate chip cookies!
I LOVE making fresh dough! Dough for bread loaves, rolls, pizza crust,…..anything! I just love the way it smells! 🙂
Favorite thing to bake: anything sweet!
follow & tweeted: https://twitter.com/TuesdayGirl/status/205001981683695616
I like SB on facebook.
I liked both on FB.
I love to back cupcakes! When I was little I would call them “pup cakes”
My favorite thing to back is red velvet cupcakes!
I liked KitchenAid and Simple Bites on Facebook!