So apparently there’s another activity that I enjoy just as much as cooking: shopping!

(Specifically, shopping for things to cook with.)

I went shopping this week for a couple of new bowls (I swear that’s all I wanted when I left the house!)

But, as you can see, I came home with much, much more.

From pots and pans to mixing spoons, and from placemats to ramekins (and a couple of other things in between), I made out pretty well.

And sometimes a little retail therapy can be a good thing, right?

It is all stuff I needed though!

Well, at least it’s all stuff I’ve been thinking about for some time… so it’s not like I just went completely bananas and bought the whole store…

It’s not very often that I do shop for kitchen basics, though, so it was actually a lot of fun to browse the aisles and to come away with some things that weren’t on my mind on my way to the store.

I really did go for bowls too! I just happened to come home with a lot of, well… not bowls, as well…

But this isn’t really about shopping…

It’s really about the difference it can make to have nice stuff to use in your kitchen.

Because cooking is about more than just food

I mean, sure, ultimately, what you want people to remember is how wonderful your food tastes…

But wouldn’t it be nice if they could also remember what a fun atmosphere you created?

How attractive the place setting was?

How fancy the dishes were?

How dinner felt like an event to enjoy, and not just a mad rush to stuff their faces and then rush off to the next part of their evening?

And wouldn’t it be nice to cook with some fancy schmancy gadgets and utensils?

I don’t know about you, but for me, sometimes cooking can start to feel like a drag.

Sometimes I can get into a rut, or feel discouraged, or overwhelmed – or just… tired…

And sometimes a new recipe can pull me out of my rut, but sometimes I need a little bit more.

Sometimes a new spatula, or a new pan – or even a new cutting board – can make my kitchen seem like an exciting place to be again, and can rekindle the spark that keeps me in love with cooking.

And anything that inspires you to keep cooking is definitely a good thing!

Whether you find it at a box store, online, at a yard sale, or at Goodwill… sometimes you just need the proper motivation…

And having kitchen tools that make you want to be in the kitchen?

That’s a good place for an aspiring cook to begin.