My lovely, lovely fella, Nic, bought me my Kitchenaid a couple of years ago. There are a few brands of mixer available, but Kitchenaid wins. They look the coolest, which means you are far more likely to leave them on display all of the time, which means you're far more likely to actually use them!
My favourite recipe book is
The Grand Central Baking Book. The page containing their
Oatmeal...