laetitiae's Profile

On the one hand, $750 a month gets me a two bedroom house with yard. On the other hand, I am nowhere near all the places that are selling beautiful pieces of furniture. Trade offs, I suppose. :)

The site looks great. Thanks, AT!

No gin and tonic? Huh. (Though, is a G&T not considered a proper cocktail? That would explain its absence.)

I have a 2x4 Expedit unit in my kitchen that is near my bar. I have gotten in the habit of writing cocktail recipes down on some super sticky sticky notes and arranging them on the side of the Expedit. When I'm feeling like a drink, I can then just stand there and scan all of the sticky notes until I find a cocktail I'm in the mood for. It works well for me!

This blog entry is also relevant to the topic: http://www.jeffreymorgenthaler.com/2012/the-most-important-bar-tool-you%E2%80%99re-probably-not-using/

I think he's convinced me to get a Moleskin address book and keep a more formal cocktail diary. Using an address book to help alphabetize the drink recipes is just a stroke of genius!

First: COCKTAIL WEEK AT THE KITCHN!!! Today is the last day of the semester for me (I teach at a college) and this couldn't be better timed. Between taking the edge off, getting in the right mindset for grading, and anticipating the summer ahead, I foresee some serious cocktailing this week. I'm excited to see what you've got planned for us!

Now, erm, to the question asked. As a stop-gap measure once my collection of bottles got a bit too big, I ended up using this bathroom shelving unit thing from IKEA: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20154591/ I couldn't afford to buy anything new and this was basically just taking up space in my house. But now I absolutely love it as a corner bar area. The tall bottles fit on the top shelf and shorter bottles easily fit on the lower shelves. The bottom two shelves are then used to store small cans of juice (grapefruit, cranberry,etc) and a middle one stores the various bar implements - shakers, jiggers, muddlers, etc. All in all, it's a pretty nice set up! And it fits in a perfect little corner of my house.

I am in love with the pedestal table in the third photograph. Stunning! Does anyone have an idea of where I might find a similar table, outside of scouring craigslist and flea markets?

I've been tempted by this wall mounted desk: http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Murphy-Walnut-Fold-out-Convertible-Desk/4733628/product.html

I think it would do very well in an entryway. Fold it down and have a mail center, place to put keys and paperwork, etc. Fold it up and it looks pretty attractive. Put a small mirror and/or bit of art in the center of the folded up section and it would look even better!

I worry, though, about the weight of it on my walls (especially as I rent). My luck, I'd hang it and it would take down half of the wall with it. :)

The makeover in the linked post is phenomenal. I can't imagine walking into the house in its before state and having the vision (or, hell, the energy!) to realize what it could look like when refinished. The home now is just gorgeous (especially the staircase! it was breathtaking!).

I live in eastern WA. Currently renting an 800sq house for $800. Soon moving to a 1200sq house with a yard for gardening for $750.
Lowest: $650 (for a small two bedroom house or larger two bedroom apt)
Highest: $950 (for a three bedroom house)

My central kitchen resolution for the year is to do all my dishes before I go to bed at night. It's amazing how much better I feel to wake up to a nice, clean sink.

These look **amazing**! And while I don't (yet!) have homemade grenadine, I think I may make some so that I can try the Arsenic Sauce and the Salty Old St. Nicholas.

As for the complaints that these don't include "ingredients you have on hand", if you read the article it's clear that he is making cocktails that don't rely on buying $100 worth of speciality liqueur. There's a clear difference in buying a $3 container of grapefruit juice or making homemade grenadine with a $5 bottle of POM juice and a $40 bottle of Domaine de Canton or $45 bottle of absinthe. And I would say that an average liquor cabinet -- especially of the sort of person who likes to try new cocktails -- would have both bitters and vermouth.