<p>My Vitamix Blender - this thing ROCKS. They are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination but it is the one thing I miss when I travel and if driving I have been known to bring it. It can handle anything - nuts, ice, etc. It has a great warranty and I’ve had no issues with it and it’s a few years old. Also, it is so easy to clean - you put some water, a couple drops of dish soap, and run it at high for 10-12 seconds and it’s clean as can be. That and my kichen aid mixer are the 2 things I would replace same day if they died on me.</p>
<p>I also love my dyson - we have the smaller ball version and it has been great - not to mention anytime we’ve had an issue, they are so nice and helpful when you call.</p>
<p>I’ve been googling all the suggestions I don’t know about - we have 2 rescue lab mixes that leave behind their weight in fur so I need to check out the furminator!</p>
<p>1.My Simmons latex topped mattress…turned nights of misery on the old mattress into sweet dreams. Also the really (to me) expensive memory foam pillows. I have never loved a pillow so much. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The heavy duty futon in our extra bedroom. It’s fifteen years old and has survived all two boys could throw at it, hundreds of hours of video games, dozens of sleepovers, wrestling matches,etc. It still looks like new.</p></li>
<li><p>All the $$ we spent on braces for our kids’ teeth. </p></li>
<li><p>The hair clippers I bought have saved us hundreds of dollars in haircuts as both S’s and DH learned to “buzz” their own heads years ago.</p></li>
<li><p>The LL Bean dog bed we bought fourteen years ago when we brought that wild animal home from the Pound. He has slept on it every night for fourteen years. Now he is a sweet senior citizen who retires to his bed by 9:00 every night. </p></li>
<li><p>My Dansko clogs and SuperFeet orthotic innersoles …good-by plantar fasciitis.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Waaaaay too many mom suggestions here, so I’m adding one for you to tell your son’s (and daughters) for when they go out on their own in the world and start their own household:</p>
<p>Power tools! (Aaargh, aargh, aaargh; he say in his best Tim Allen imitation) Most tools come in three price ranges: Cheap (Homer Simpson has a old 5-gallon bucket full of these), Mid-range (you spend 30 minutes in Lowe’s trying to convince your spouse how you absolutely NEED the highest priced tool, and they LET you buy these instead), and PRICEY (Professionals who do this everyday get some of these. Norm Abrams (New Yankee Workshop), has every dang one of these, neatly organized in workbenches he made himself with the boards from a refurbshed church. I think it was the Vatican )</p>
<p>95% of the time, go with the mid-range, unless you never, ever plan to do the project again in your life (one time purchase), then go cheap. Go pricey if Norm Abrams comes over and builds you a workshop, then buy the German brand. :)</p>
<p>Had to post this, my “testosterone-low” light came on reading about vacuums, ironing, roombas, and dog-hair removers… :)</p>
<p>I second the Kitchenaid mixer! I’ve loved mine for 25 years and it’s still going strpong.</p>
<p>Also really love the gas fireplace that come with my house. I can just flip the switch and warm up the living room and lift a foul mood.</p>
<p>Finally, I really love my high-end sewing machine (another 25-year old appliance). I use it all the time, and it has the power to sew through anything.</p>
<p>My D swears by her CHI, but just wondering if any of you found one with dual voltage. Hers isn’t, so she’s had to live w/o for two semesters of study in Europe.</p>
<p>Really cheap and worth more than you don’t have to pay is Skype.</p>
<p>I also think some of the best money we ever spent was on our Land Cruiser, I know Toyota has a bad rap right now, but that truck is a 2001 with 170,000 miles on it. I love it! My husband surprised on Christmas morning with a Mercedes GL450 and I almost cried that I was losing my Land Cruiser. Still have it right now, perfect for hauling a dirty lab and gardening supplies! I don’t mean to sound like a brat about the new truck, I do love it, I just felt like my Land Cruiser was getting “broken in”!</p>
<p>Second the garage door opener! When I was growing up we had a solid wood double door. Fortunately, by the time I was 16, I was just barely strong enough to get it up. It had huge springs, but was still pretty heavy. I’ll never forget the first time we got an opener for it. The ones we have today are styrofoam filed vinyl that you can lift with one finger–there aren’t even handles on the outside. </p>
<p>Our Tundra truck. It HAULS! I don’t know how anyone with a house on an acre lot can live without a truck.</p>
<p>Bullet - every power tool DH bought paid for itself with the money we saved by not hiring contractors. I can name only a few cases when we had to get contractors: hydroseeding our lawn, taking out a huge dead tree in our backyard, fixing the septic pump…</p>
<p>Replacement battery for my Roomba
All Clad double burner grill pan - love the idea of grilling during the winter months
Vitamix Blender - I’ve had my eye on this for awhile…</p>
<p>Any recommendations for a good knife set or sharpener? My dull knives have got to go…</p>
<p>My cleaning woman is my favorite person on the planet. I am never unhappy to see her or my handyman. I make them coffee gratefully. I buy them Christmas gifts. </p>
<p>Cutco knives are the absolute best. Also, they are the most expensive. They are like Le Crueset…depends on who you are, if they are “worth” it.</p>
<p>I have never been very interested in a Kitchenaid mixer…but then I am not much of a baker.
bogibogi, it is nice to have that grill pan…I even grill pizza on it !</p>
<p>I went and bought the furminator today…played around a little with it with my corgi and one cat. I think I am going to do it outside , but so far so good</p>
<p>ok, mafool & kathyc - that made me tear up. we are about to travel 6600 miles to see our fertility treatment baby (college junior)
and I am sure the trip will be money well spent!!</p>
<p>money well spent for me was a left-handed circular saw. As a landlord I am often doing some kind of repair. Like many lefties, I grew up learning to use tools and most everything right-handed. But with the new saw, I cut a much better line, and am far safer.
The righties usually don’t know the many things that work backwards for many of us lefties because they don’t need to know!</p>
<p>Our sleep-number bed. I swear DH would be happy to sleep on a concrete floor but I need a somewhat softer mattress - now we’re both happy.</p>
<p>At one point before we bought the Sleep-Number bed, we had a very firm Sealy Posturpedic with almost no cushioning on top. I bought a foam “egg-crate” mattress cover, and DH said it was too soft and gave him a back ache. I cut the egg-crate in half lenthwise, so my half of the bed had padding and his didn’t. When we made up the bed, you could see a line down the middle, my half was 1 - 2 inches higher than his!</p>
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