Agree with Marina87, you don't want your guests to see you sweat. At the same time, several (who don't throw parties themselves) will say they feel bad that I'm off on my own rather than enjoying ...

I'm sure it depends where you live. My city (Mountain View, California) does a pickup for "yard waste" every other garbage day. I know there's a public compost heap at the dump, so I assume that'...

NOOOOO DON'T COME IN!! You see, I started doing this "kitchen cure" thing, but then that sailing class took all weekend and I had a project due at work and the next thing we knew we had a mixer on...

We had "black tie preferred" communicated for our wedding reception because I was trying to be gentle about it (I didn't want to compel anyone to rent anything they didn't already own). I even tol...

I have a fantasy that people still dress up in D.C. Is that true? The brunettes make me want to get my hair coiffed. And smoke cigarettes at the end of a long stick.

I like assigned places very much for the reasons Matthew Hambrick said. (It's also fun because if you make a regular practice of it, it's not too suspicious when you set people up.) P...

It's a clever theme, but I agree that seeing the minutes tick by is a potential party killer - or at least will make for an early night.

When I was growing up and reel-to-reels were a thing, my dad made a "three hour party reel" - my parents used it for every single party so, it's a personal thing, but I have strong party associatio...

Two questions for the cheesemonger! 1. I read somewhere that a cheese dome was the preferred way to store cheese in the fridge, even over the cheese papers. Any truth to that?

Onepot: once had a party where a bacon-wrapped date fell in the chocolate fondue. It was a total Reese's peanut butter cup moment. Laetitiae: how about, orange, chocolate and mint? A...

This is a good idea. We had a Halloween party (spiked cider was the featured cocktail) and when one guest asked for a glass of white wine, I discovered the only white we had was a warm bottle of C...

Here it is. It looks like it was about efficient use of "land area" rather than about environmental impact generally.

I remember seeing an article some time ago that indicated that an omnivorous diet can sometimes be more environmentally sensible than a totally veg one. It depends on the fertility of the land. (...

I agree with the Kate(NC) who said entering these contests is a brave thing to do. Most of the time I enjoy this site to get ideas and discover people who are interested in helping one another liv...

The main reason I got a microwave at all, and the only thing that keeps me hanging on to it, is: it's the only thing that'll heat my leg wax. I got the smallest one I could find. :o(

I assumed the stores load up on the pillows to prevent people from sitting on the beds. We have tons of pillows (three each for sleeping, plus the big sham ones for making the bed), but somehow we...

I never use the pizza cutter, either; prefer kitchen shears. My husband won't give it up though; it makes him feel pro.

You know what I never use? My meat tenderizer. It's made of wood so it's not even that great of a tenderizer, not heavy enough to bash something flat. I'm more likely to use a rolling pin or a b...

I use my two ladles all the time - they don't seem as drippy as measuring cups or even teacups, and I don't have to put my hand near the hot liquid. Last year bought a third. It is a hand carved,...

Speaking of genes, I understand that picky isn't always about being difficult or childish as I long assumed. For instance, there's some gene where, if you have it, the broccoli famil...