I bought my wife the 5.5Qt lift bowl model number "KV25mexer5" from Costco. It has all steel gears. I got when they had basically 2 sales on it at same time. $50 off from KA and $30 off from Costco so we paid $249.00 total. For $250 it is probably the best choice you can find for a mixer, we have not had any problems with ours after 5 months of use so far. Hasn't had any problem making a 3 cup batch of bread dough using the dough hook and on speed 2 like it says to do. So far for us and especially for the price it was the best deal for our needs. It is loud but so is every other mixer in this power range. It seems rather solid, no grinding, everything works smoothly. I seriously looked at the Bosch Universal which is definitely a better mixer especially if you make a lot of large 6+ cup dough batches. But for the one I would buy (stainless bowl with blender) is $550 on sale. So more than double the price. For how much we use a mixer this Costco KA was our best deal by far, plus the added perk of if anything happens to it the first year or maybe even longer we could just take it right back for a full refund or replacement with no hassles. IF you use the hell out of a mixer though I would pay the extra and get the Bosch Universal. As far as where the KA "Stand Mixers" are made they are actually made in Greenville OH. The KA hand mixers are however made in China. But like most everything else made in China it is made there under the exact specifications that the American Company wants, unfortunately that happens to be cheap as humanly possible which is why they are made there. IF the American company stated we want the best possible mixer you can make and stated exactly what they wanted, what materials to use etc that is exactly what they would get from China. So while everyone continually puts the blame on China it really has next to nothing to do with them. It is the American company that purposely wants crap at the cheapest price possible.

Thanks everyone. I'm all smiley and giddy hearing your kind comments. It melts me heart. I'm glad to hear people like the backsplash tile. It is pretty bold. I was also THRILLED with how the stain on the island turned out. Interestingly, lots of people say the kitchen has a peaceful look and feel to it and that wasn't necessarily something I was aiming for but my kitchen mission statement did include "casual but sophisticated/elegant" which might boil down to "peaceful or tranquil". We feel very blessed to have been able to do such a large scale kitchen remodel and are thrilled with how everything turned out. It also means we won't be moving for the next 15+ years! I can't wait until the bar stools are in and I can start serving snacks to my kids there. We are borrowing one bar stool right now and it gets a lot of use. clarygrace and others - I'm glad to hear you think the colors are coordinate b/c I was in a quandary about that at one point. I can't wait to see your kitchen and island. We love the shape of ours but did it b/c it worked within our constraints. We didn't want to mess with the existing deck outside the bay windows and we couldn't push right much more either b/c of the powder room. And speaking of the powder room - here are pictures of that which was also part of this remodel: tea4all - the pantry is pretty small as far as walk-in pantries go. Finished dimensions are 5.5' long by 46'' wide. We weren't originally going to do a pantry but it made sense with the rest of the layout (it brought the oven closer to the rest of the kitchen) and I am really glad we did! It was actually framed larger and had to be redone b/c large aisles were more important to me than a few more inches in the pantry. The other detail I forgot to include - the grout color on the backsplash is Custom Grout Light Smoke and on the floor it is Lacrete Parchment (just in case someone really wants to know - ha!)

How about - it's okay to be on the counter if I put it on there but otherwise no - get your junk outta here! I have the toaster, coffee pot, fresh fruit bowl, knife block (which I too would like to get rid of) and paper towel holder and napkin stacker. That is what I have on there. What else is there? No less than 6 water bottles, 2 phone cords (I'd love to kick charging to the curb but dh insists on using the kitchen for his stuff even though we have other spots for it) a pair of sunglasses, an outdoor tool flier and on and on. So how many knives do you all have? I think my knife collection is limited but I could use more steak knives. We had a family gathering and we didn't have enough so I need more but then I need to store them. Any other knife storage pics to share?

Our eating habits have changed quite a bit in the last few years. I don’t cook in the quantity I used to and now if we have a steak it’s just with a salad or baked potato but not both like we used to. We don’t eat red meat as much mostly stick to chicken and sea food or sometimes just a couple of different vegetables. Hardly ever have any sweets but DH still likes his cookies and I still love a dish of ice cream. This summer we have just about lived on sandwiches I still make bread every 2 weeks. In our mid 70’s we have slowed down quite a bit my cast iron is getting heavier and heavier. DH had a melanoma scare, stage 0, recently he has been so tired lately I worry about him but the doctors say he is good. Neither of us takes any prescription meds so I consider us pretty healthy. We found a house to buy in Arizona a few miles from DGS and great grandsons but at the last minute decides we will stay put. Keeping up with one house is enough I don’t need 2 kitchens to look after and keep clean. Unless California goes totally socialist with heath care we will be ok. We go and visit ever month or so and face time a few times a week. We have started to rid the house of junk but DD said she consider my house of antiques a museum, my sued furniture that was all I could afford 50 years ago, that she plans on keeping LOL. We live in a resort town so maybe she will use the house after we are gone but who knows. All I know is this getting old thing is not what it’s cracked up to be. Whoever said life get easier after you retire is full of it. And Annie I had horrible acid reflux for the last 4 or 5 years. A couple of months ago I stopped drinking any soda, anything with carbonated water, and I haven’t had any stomach or reflux issues since. Plus I lost a few pounds and sleep so much better. Don’t know if you drink any soda but if you do give it a try maybe it will help.