I graduated last October and I finally have some time on my hands to learn more about baking. Of course I have to stick to whatever baking budget I can scrape while I’m unemployed, so I’m trying to learn how to get more from the money I have without scrimping on quality. I’ve been trying basic recipes of cookies, cakes and bread. I only bake those that I would want to eat so it wouldn’t go to waste. So far I’ve been doing good on my chocolate cake, cinnamon rolls, chocolate chip cookies, blonde brownies and snickerdoodles.

I don’t have access to all ingredients used in the recipes I find, so I try to find alternatives and substitute accordingly. Since Christmas is fast approaching, I am striving to increase my baking budget so that I can try more dessert recipes. Christmas is the most important holiday for our family so I would like to prepare different treats for everyone. My camera died a few weeks ago so I’m not too sure if I can get pictures of my baking experiments. My sister asked Canon how much the repair would cost and they said P16,000+.  We decided that it would be better to get a new camera instead. I’ve been wanting to get the Lumix LX3 and hopefully, I can get one before Christmas comes.

I was browsing through Amazon earlier and I couldn’t stop drooling on the pretty Kitchen Aid mixers. They cost around $400 – $500 here in the Philippines, so I haven’t been able to get one for myself. Unfortunately, the mixers from Amazon aren’t available for international shipping so I can’t enjoy the cheaper prices they offer. I was hoping to get one of their KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixers because the Empire Red has a listed price of $349 but is discounted to $269.99. Plus, it can go down up to $239.99 if you get a rebate. If only Kitchen Aid stand mixers sold for $269.99 (around P12,000+ in our local currency) here, I can easily save for one. If I can get around $300 before the promo ends, I’ll check how much shipping would cost if shipped through  POBox or JohnnyAir.