When I was at Bed Bath and Beyond buying my cake pop maker and donut pan, I saw lots of other fun goodies.
Like a popcorn maker
A Cotton Candy Maker
Pretzel Maker
Pigs In a Blanket Makers. I really don’t think these are flying off the shelves but I could be wrong.
The seasonal baking goodies were out in full force.
Cupcake decorating supplies
Cupcake-making toys
And more toys and gadgets including multiple types of cookie, cake, and cupcake decorating tools
Moving onto food processors
I don’t own one. I use my Vita for everything but I think a food processor would be really helpful. I’d still like to hear what kind you have and like if you have food processor opinions.
And ta-da, Stand Mixers. Another thing I don’t own but want to. It was either a lens or a stand mixer. I chose a lens and the stand mixer is on my Christmas list, for sure.
And that was just one little section of the store.
We didn’t even get to dishes, bedding, bathroom stuff, organizing products, trash cans, cloth napkins, beauty items, candles, seasonal foods and goodies, lamps, shower caddies, towels, curtains, or toilet rugs. It’s.just.endless.
I could have a field day!
My favorite purchase from the day so far has been the $3.99 cookie scoop
Cannot say enough great things about it. Small, but a life-changer.
Or a cookie-changer
Questions:
1. What “makers” do you want from this post? Or what appliances, tools, or kitchen items do you want, in general?
I think it’s fair to say most of us would love a stand mixer or a Vita-Mix.
After that, no one would complain about a set of gorgeous knives, a stainless juicer, a great food processor, or for the coffee lovers, a fancy schmancy espresso maker.
But for things well below the $500 price point, I have to say, a popcorn maker or a cotton candy maker would make me smile. I love cotton candy! And chocolate-covered popcorn, too.
But my kitchen is the size of a shoebox. No storage for most of this stuff. Which is probably a good thing.
2. Do you like shopping for housewares? Do you like Bed Bath & Beyond or similar stores? Any favorite stores?
Since Linens ‘n Things has closed, BB & B really has the corner on the market in my area.
Ikea, Target, Marshalls, Homegoods, TJ Maxx, specialty cooking stores, Williams-Sonoma, Sur La Table, none of them really have the one-stop-shopping for housewares of all kinds that bankrupts me excites me quite like BB & B.
Where else can you buy a down comforter, a cookie scoop, a Vita-Mix, a shower caddy, stock up on toothpaste and exotic coffees from their market section, get a couple of Yankee candles to burn, while browsing lamps for your desk and throw in some bamboo towels and champagne flutes and an iron for good measure.
I don’t know how their employees actually leave with a paycheck. I wouldn’t!
One tip about the Bed Bath & Beyond coupons is that they never expire, even though they have a printed expiration date on them, it doesn’t matter. The stores will always take them so I hoard them and save them in an envelope for a rainy day. With a 20% off savings, most things at BB & B are cheaper or almost as cheap as any online “deals” you can find. Plus you get to walk out of the store with your purchase that day rather than waiting for online orders to ship. Of course, there are exceptions to this, but 20% off coupons are great. Save them!
P.S. Thanks for the Sunglasses Giveaway entries. Looks like lots of you want some shades.
And if you have one spare second, could you please Vote for Me in the Delta/Biscoff Bake-Off. Thank you! I really appreciate it.
Happy Halloween Weekend!
Candy corn maker?!?! For only $30?!? I so would have snatched that up. Because I am all about the ridiculous purchases. I was in Barnes and Noble today right next to BBB, but ran out of time. I was with my niece who wanted to go to Old Navy and then B&N, and then, if time, BBB. Nope, no time. Probably for the best though.
I totally want that pretzel maker! I don’t know why? I don’t know where to store it, but I just want it! It looks like fun! Yes, I could make pretzels the old fashion way, but an appliance that makes them, now thats just plain cool!!
For stores,I like Williams and Sonoma,TJ Maxx, Macy’s on occasion, and Sur La Table. Oh and Crate and Barrel too! I wish I had the space and the money to get the stat of the art appliances. At this time I just need to save for a refrigerator, that’s the big one I need next!!
not super practical but fun, indeed.
just saw your halloween treats on your blog…wanna share? they look great!
I tend to swear by Cooks Illustrated when it comes to their product and small appliance recommendations. Way back when I was on my kitchen gadget buying spree, they rated a Cuisinart pretty nicely, so that’s what I went with. I love my Vitamix but definitely can’t live without my Cusinart, too.
On another note, how many pigs in a blanket does one have to make, and on a regular basis, before they consider getting dedicated machine for the task???
I love Cooks Illstrated, too. Their cookie recipe with some tweaking proved great recently, too.
https://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2011/10/peanut-butter-oatmeal-white-chocolate-cookies.html
Good to know you have both a V and a C.
I LOVE Bed Bath and Beyond, but being in there overwhelms the crap out of me. I honestly get dizzy being in that store, especially when it’s busy….wish I could just go in and have the whole place to myself for an afternoon! Oh, and we have both food processors and Vitamixes at NGI, and I’d say the processor is worth the investment. It blends things in a completely different way than a Vita, and is a lot of bang for your buck. I have a Cuisinart that was about $40 and I use it all the time!
that’s good to know about NGI having both. When I watch Top Chef Just Desserts they have both too :)
i would not have believed you could buy a pigs in a blanket maker unless i had seen your photo as proof! that is hilarious!!
ok, i am likely in the minority here…but i do not want or need any kitchen appliances. not my thing! i feel very bad because my parents got me a lovely food processor (or is it a blender??) for last xmas and i have not even opened the box. i am hoping i can regift it to someone getting married! (just telling the truth here!).
glad you had fun and added items to your wish list!!
i would prefer to shop at target!
Wanna re-gift it to me? lol :)
I am a kitchen appliance freak! I got a stand mixer from my MIL as a wedding gift and then the ninja blender as an anniversary gift. Love. <3 I also bought several things I wanted like a waffle maker, crock pot, toaster oven, ice cream machine and deep fryer during black Friday last year. Next on my wish list is a mini ninja, dehydrator, rice maker, and pressure cooker.
I usually buy stuff from Home Goods, Costco or Target/Walmart. I'll have to check out B,B&B!
you’re like the 5th person to mention a Ninja in this post…I need to check those things out now!
ooooh, a cotton candy maker?! I so want that! haha
I highly recommend the kitchen aid food processors. I’ve had mine for a couple of years and it’s really durable and strong. I also love, love, love my kitchen aid stand mixer (it’s the professional 600 series). It was a Valentine’s gift from my husband, and it’s insanely powerful. We make a lot of breads, and it’s amazing when it comes to kneading dough. Love it!
so you have a KA food proc, and others have Cuisinarts. There’s this ‘debate’ about which brand is better. Good to know you love your Kitchen Aid, both for food proc and for the stand mixer.
I have a big cuisinart food processor. I love it. I use it all the time. I make your recipes that call for a vita mix with it. I also have a blendtec blender, but i use the processor more because the blendtec is so loud. Is the vitamix really loud? I wish i had went with the vitamix but at the time i got a better deal on the blendtec.
I have alot of appliances and a shoebox galley kitchen. I’d say the one i use the least is the dehydrator because it is so big- 9 trays and it takes really long. (my husband was eating a raw food diet for a while- we spent a boat load on appliances…)
Katie
I have both a vita and a blendtec and love love love the vita about 100x more than the BT. I just cannot get into the BT groove. It’s not for me. There are a hundred reasons why I like the Vita more but since you already have a BT, I won’t belabor those :)
Yes, the Vita is loud but I have just…gotten used to it.
I don’t have a vita but my many-many-years-old-and-broken Black & Decker (cheapie!) food processor gets every job done I ever need it to. I also have a kitchen aid mini processor but I just love the big one! I use it for raw preparations, dressings, sauces, shredding veggies, all kinds of stuff.
I need one of those cookie scoopers! Or five. I’m on a major cookie endeavor. Thanks for the idea!
I am saving for a food processor- I like my mandoline, but the processor would make it so much quicker and easier (added bonus: it would make making pie crust easy-peasy). I’m also saving for a Vitamix because let’s face it, in my family, I’m the only one my parents would consider “crazy” enough to spend that kind of money on one, and I’d love to get some green smoothies going in the mornings (and the ability to grind grains and nuts and such). But if I’m saving, I should probably not go in BB&B- it’s impossible to walk out without buying something (ahem, two donut pans on my last trip…).
My stand mixer is my absolute favorite kitchen appliance- my mom got it for me last Christmas and I use it several times a week. I’d like to point out that, for those people who don’t mind them, there are places that sell the reconditioned ones at a fraction of the price. My mom scored mine (a professional series 5-quart, bowl lift type) for $175 before tax. I’m pretty sure the same, non-reconditioned model retails for around $350. It works beautifully, and I’ve actually asked for some of the accessories (like the beater with a rubber edge that scrapes the bowl while it mixes and a glass bowl) for Christmas :)
thanks for the tip about the refurb’ed kitchen aids. same thing applies for Vita’s, check their site for deals!
OMG, I almost bought a babycakes cupcake maker last night at BJ’s! But it was $29.99 — WAY more than BB&B. I resisted because my birthday is coming in 6 weeks and I have to save something for someone to buy for me, lol. Besides, it would just sit there for awhile. I definitely want the cupcake and donut maker, don’t think I want the cake pops because I think it takes the moistness out of the pop; like mushing it together with cream cheese and such. :)
I love BB&B and always have the coupons; $5 off plus 20% off rocks my socks. I love kitchen stuff!! And I bought that same donut pan from BB&B. They only had one left when I bought mine. Clearly your store is way better than ours. Wouldn’t be surprised if ours didn’t even have half of what you showed. ha
The BB&B one was 19.99 and then i had a $5 coupon for it, so it was 14.99. Cheap thrills baby :)
I try to double dip with my coupons, i.e. $5 off’s and then the 20% off’s on the rest of the items.
The Babycakes makers are great. I got the cakeball maker and the donut maker. I think the muffins are just bigger versions of cakeballs, really. Surprisingly the cakepop maker makes pretty moist little balls. Light but not too light and airy. But I do love an authentic cake pop, all smooshed up with a jar of frosting and crumbled cake!
And yes, our BB&B is MASSIVE. It’s ridic. It should be illegal. I love it!
I had a friend growing up who actually had a cotton candy machine. I really have always wanted a kitchenaid mixer. I actually like looking at both large and small appliances. May not be able to buy them, but I can dream ;-)
How freaking fun is that cotton candy maker?? Love these little appliances. I may need to go shopping now!
No, the thing I really want is a high-powered, easy to clean, compact JUICER! :) Or a panini press.
I used to love Linens ‘N Things! I have a Cuisinart mini food processor, I don’t use it all that much, just for banana soft serve and basic stuff. I also have a blender; it’s certainly no Vita and it’s loud so it’s hard to make smoothies in the mornings. Last Christmas my parents got me a great toaster oven :) It is getting plenty of use!
oh my gosh…there are soooo many more appliances I want, but my kitchen is overcrowded with them as it is, haha. Mostly, though, I still want that donut maker! I’d even settle for a donut pan. I want those cookie scoops, too. Ooohhh & a panini press!! Oh no…I have to stop thinking about this now :)
for 15 bucks you can get a donut pan and a cookie scoop…cheap thrills baby, go shopping :)