Everything you do, you do better if you enjoy the process – the more masterful the setting, the more enjoyable the experience. That being said, I just made baking cookies and cakes a Zen-like event!

Ree Drummond aka “Pioneer Woman”; book and mixer

If you think you have seen a mixer that has been airbrushed like this you must be a fan of the Pioneer Woman on Food Network. When I saw her mixer painted with the same bright blue flower pattern as the cover of her cookbook, I was inspired to put my own mark on the KitchenAid Mixer, often the defining characteristic on every serious cook’s counter space!

I channeled my inner detective and tracked down the artist. We started a conversation and I developed an artistic crush. Nicole Dinardo of Un Amore Design calls her art kitchen couture and she delivers on her promise, “A custom painted KitchenAid Mixer – it is a match made in custom kitchen couture heaven.”

Lookie, lookie at my new work of art. It is my brand new KitchenAid Mixer, hand painted by the incredibly talented Nicole Dinardo.

I purchased the mixer and sent it directly to Nicole’s’ Snohomish, Washington address along with a check for her fee. Then the wait begins. Nicole does not promise you a time for delivery and lets you know there is a months-long waiting list—some of her clients include Mario Batali and Hubert Keller; the latter is a chef at the Fleur de Lys restaurant in San Francisco, and loves his mixer so much that when he gives people tours of his house, the mixer is the first thing on it!

I can certainly understand how he feels! My kitchen in Linville, North Carolina loves the new KitchenAid almost as much as I do—the gray background and yellow flowers match everything so beautifully, and I think the way Nicole chose to do it lends the mixer a certain southern charm.

It was definitely worth waiting for, and so akin—even if it is just an appliance—to buying an original painting from an artist that will definitely appreciate in value. You cannot imagine how happy I was when I finally got a chance to open it! Once it was out of the box I spent a lot of time moving it around, just to make sure the mixer was happy in its new home. I think we will keep each other!

So, no… I have not actually used it yet…. But when I do, you betcha those cookies and cakes are going to taste way more upscale than they used to!

I promise I will let you know.