This post is about me and my notorious propensity to become obsessed with certain foods or drinks. My past obsessions have included sulfate free wine, no sugar or dairy in foods, coffee made with a french press, espresso, organic foods, green vegetable drinks, and homemade bread to name a few. I currently make latte’s for Lou and I every morning but once I tasted Sam’s coffee while in New York I start obsessing on her coffee. She has the most fashionable coffee maker you have ever seen, the coffee tasted fabulous and it was easy.
In the past I have only been able to drink espresso because it is easier on my stomach for some reason, I have read it it less acidic. Either way I didn’t get sick from Sam’s coffee, so once I got home the process started. Pre -recession I would have gone straight to the mall and bought the same exact coffee maker as Sam and tell Lou it was an absolute necessity. He would shake his head and say “whatever Love, if you say it is a necessity, I am sure it is.”
In my current financial state I operate a little different. First I looked at the coffeemakers at Target and came home with one which was only $30. Once I took it out of the box, I hated the way it looked and instantly put it back in the box to return the next day. Nothing looked good in comparison to the DeLonghi. To make matters worse, I woke up on Friday morning to discover our espresso machine wasn’t working. Maybe it was a sign? Friday was Lou’s day off and I saw an ad for a home sale at Bloomingdale’s. We bought our last espresso machine there so I decided to run in while Lou stayed in the car with Tiara. Once inside I saw the coveted DeLonghi in person but it was $169 for a coffee maker without any bells and whistles. Hmmm. The salesman showed me every espresso machine and coffeemaker on the floor and I got so overwhelmed I quickly left.
That afternoon I went to Crate N Barrel, found nothing and then walked down to Macy’s home store. Ohhhh, another sale! There was my DiLonghi maker again, but it was only $143 at this store. I told myself to move in and found a Krups machine with both a coffee and espresso machine in one for ONLY $73. I bought it and brought it home to show Lou. By this point he could care less what I bought as long as we had coffee in the morning and didn’t have to make another Starbucks run in the morning which would cost 10$. I knew the Krups wasn’t what I really wanted but resigned myself to be happy with it.
Saturday morning I woke up early and took the machine out of the box. I decided to use the coffee part but then realized it didn’t come with the reusable filter I assumed it did. Nor did it come with a sample of any filters. I went through my whole pantry and couldn’t find a coffee filter to save my life. So frustrated. I then looked at the espresso portion of the machine and realized I couldn’t deal with setting it up without coffee so Tiara and I made a trip to the drive through Starbucks. During the drive I realized I hated the new Krups machine and I would not keep it under any circumstances. I was pissed! As soon as I dropped Trinity at gymnastics I made a run to Target to return the first machine and then over to Macy’s to return the Krups. Tiara was not thrilled with this program but I somehow managed to get it done.
That afternoon my parents stopped by to bring me some leftovers and I told my Mom about my coffeemaker issue. I asked her “Mom, do you think a more expensive coffeemaker works better than a cheaper one?”
Mom: “Of course, Tiffani! This is ridiculous, go buy the pretty expensive one like Samantha’s!”
Me: “What, you know I don’t have extra money like that. “
Mom: “Really, just buy the nice one and stop talking about it.”
After she left I researched all the coffeemakers on the market and discovered that the Cuisinart I had seen at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s had a great reputation and was reasonably priced. In the meantime, Tiara and I made another trip to Target and I bought another coffeemaker that looked like the Cuisinart I had researched. Crazy! I put in in the living room and didn’t even attempt to take it out of the box, because I knew I had once again bought something I wouldn’t be happy with.
That night Lou came home and saw the 3rd coffee maker and just started laughing. “Did you buy another coffee maker so you could have another one to return tomorrow?”
Me: “Well, kinda. I did the research and comparison shopping and bought the Cuisinart coffeemaker on Amazon.com today. I also bought a decalcifying agent which should fix our espresso machine, which I learned about when reading the Krups instruction manual. Now we will have a working espresso machine and a new coffee maker which heats to the proper temperature, to get the most out of our coffee beans. I also learned that I can buy fresh roasted beans at Kean, which is highly recommended for the best cup of coffee. “
Sunday morning I wake up and Lou had already made the Starbucks run. I reminded him that I was going to pull out my French press so we didn’t have to waste more money at Starbucks. Secretly I was so grateful he had already gone to Starbucks.
Monday morning I used the French Press and the coffee was consumable but not fantastic. Can’t wait until my new coffee maker arrives. Oh, forgot to mention I had to buy the special grinder which will help me make the perfect cup of coffee. I will report back and let you know if I actually kept everything and it worked like I imagined.
Yes, I am mentally insane or rather as Missy would say, I AM A VIRGO!
Have a great day!
xoxo tiffani
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us virgos are sooooo….well u know 😉
If you were to put a price on the grief, running around and time it took to deal with this, don’t you think maybe the coffee maker you wanted in the first place would have been cheaper? Just sayin’
I was exhausted just reading it…haha…
My family is exhausted from hearing about it. You are right and I know it but I love to think about the options. Very odd. xoxo tiffani
OMG! You went through all of THAT over $143?! Okay, money is tight, I get it but on the gasoline, your time and aggravation alone you could easily have reconciled buying the DeLonghi you really wanted in the first place – and that’s the one that’ll make you feel better, it’ll make you feel right about the purchase and you’ll enjoy the espresso infinitely better. I’m with your mom on this – just buy it!
Ok, I have to confess I left out a portion of the story, but I couldn’t write about it because it was boring even me thinking about it. The De Longhi comes in bright amazing colors and I already own a light pink kitchen aide. You really should only have one signature pop of color appliance in the kitchen and I already own one so I would have had to buy the stainless version and it wasn’t as cute as the blue, fushia or green so I had to abort mission. Truth be told I ended up spending $150 because I bought the coffee grinder and the milk froather. As much time as I spend on the coffee maker, it diverted my attention from other stuff so I actually enjoyed it. xoxo
I don’t know who convinced you to go to law school when your understanding and passion for interior design is so innate.
Coffee = Happy Mommy! Buy the DeLonghi and be HAPPY!!!
Thanks Chantelle, read the comment I wrote above and ultimately you will know why I couldn’t choose the DiLonghi. I couldn’t decide on the color. Sad but true. xoxo
Oh Tiffani. I’m so confused. Which one did you buy? Which one are you waiting for? The one like Sam’s in New York. I know how it is. You see something you want and nothing will quite do. But could it have been the coffee too? What kind of coffee did she have in there?
Hilarious! I can’t live without coffee either.