Kitchen Wish List – Husband Guest Post

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We are going to move house soon (if all goes through, fingers crossed, touch wood) and I’m looking forward to having a larger kitchen, our current kitchen is a good size for cooking on your own but it’s not really big enough for cooking as a family and it’s certainly not big enough for all the kitchen gadgets that I absolutely, positively need in order to make mealtimes more technical and science based.

I’ve been spending a lot of time planning for the new kitchen and this post represents my more realistic plans for the new kitchen and I’ve omitted some of the more esoteric, single use gadgets that my wife will never ever let me have…

The Coffee Station

Taking my inspiration from Pinterest, I plan to dedicate a section of the kitchen to a coffee station. Two small children have made coffee a major part of my life and I recently took the decision to reduce the quantity of coffee I consume and improve the quality. I really appreciate a fantastic coffee, and good coffee is worth the effort!

cstation

Wall Art

I love this print which can be found here, it will make it the centre piece of the my coffee station.

Coffee print

The Coffee Machine

We have a popular coffee pod machine which will be coming with us and it’s great for quick and easy coffee but I’m now looking to have some fun and practice the art of coffee a little more. I’ve been researching coffee machines and after speaking to a Sage representative at the intu Trafford Centre, I’ve decided that the Sage Barista Express is the machine for me. It offers an inbuilt grinder that delivers the right dose of coffee directly into the portafilter and a thermocoil for heating the water and generating steam for the milk giving me an opportunity to try my hand at latte art. Plus it looks good, I like the brushed stainless steel look, and the reviews are great.

sage

To complete the barista experience, I’ll also be looking to buy a knock box and a stainless steel milk jug. I can’t wait to try and perfect my coffee and latte art!

knock box

 

The Coffee

We’re big fans of Pact coffee and we currently use their service to provide us with small batch, freshly ground coffee for drinking at work (I use a Hario V60 dripper and my wife has ‘borrowed’ by aeropress), so I can see us adding beans to our subscription as we like the variety that pact gives us.

I’d also like to mimic the espressos served my favourite Manchester coffee houses, so I’ll be buying some Cult of Done espresso as served by Pot Kettle Black and Barnraiser  as served by Grindsmiths and North Tea Power’s Deerhunter house blend.

Knives

I’ve always wanted to own a set of Global knives but I’ve been a bit intimidated by the sharpness and precision of their Japanese steel but I think I’m old enough and proficient enough to now invest in some.

globals

Knife Block

As much as I love Globals, being a father to two young boys has made me a little more safety conscious and the Joseph Joseph LockBlock is a locking knife block while prevents little hands from being able to remove the knives.

knife block

 

Chopping Board

I’m obsessed with Joseph Joseph and their innovative approach to design, so I’ve got my eye on their Index chopping boards which are stylish and space-saving.

Fridge Freezer

We’ll finally have space for an american style fridge freezer, this Samsung one is perfect,  and I’m sure the boy will love being able to access chilled water and ice on demand!

fridge

 

Scales

I like the idea of the Drop scales which link to an iPad based recipe app and I think that fits well in my ‘smart home’ strategy (although I’m not sure about the iKettle)

drop

Other stuff

I want to make fresh pasta, so I’m going to need a pasta maker and our pots and pans could do with a refresh, why not leave a comment and give me some recommendations? I’ll keep you posted on the progress of the kitchen and I’ll write reviews of all the items listed above as and when we buy them.

Moving Home

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I’ve mentioned this before but we’d love to move home. We are already very lucky to live in a nice home, but it’s a home we bought when there was just the two of us and now there’s four! We never imagined when we bought our first house together that we’d have our children here. We both thought that this house would be a starter home and that we’d be moving on before children but with the economy the way it has been the chance to move has never presented itself.
However fast forward 9 years and we would love to move soon.
Our current house was a new build property and we have looked after it. We’ve recently been looking around at other new builds and today I think we may have seen the perfect place. Currently the sales office isn’t even open at the houses so we are watching and waiting, hoping to get in early when it does. I just hope that we’ll have enough deposit for a new place, but if we don’t then we’ll look for something else and accept that it wasn’t meant to be on this occasion and where ever we end up will be the path the universe wanted us to take.
If and when we do move I’ll be sad to say goodbye to the house that has given us so much. We got married here (well not married but we left one day as two people and returned the next day as a married couple). I laboured for most of my first birth at home as I wanted a home birth but it wasn’t meant to be. Flixster was born in our living room and that means that the house will always be special, this address is on his birth certificate as his place of birth. He will carry that with him for the rest of his life.
We’ve had many happy memories here, too many to mention but they are just that, memories. Memories to look back on and smile. As we look to the future though, I’m thinking and dreaming of all the memories we are yet to make as a family, and no matter where we live as long as we have each other we’ll be happy.

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