bodicegoddess's Profile

Display Name: bodicegoddess
Personal URL: http://www.bymaggie.com/
Member Since: 3/11/10

Latest Comments...

This is a much more helpful list than the "Does it make noise, a mess, or both?" qualifications I used to get in getting gifts for my younger cousins.


Toy Buying Mistakes and
Tips to Avoid Them
8/14/12 2:36 PM

Well, mine range from innocuous to disgusting.

Innocuous:
I once tried to make macaroni in one of my mom's nice glass bowls. Filled it with water, added heat and a little pad of butter, waited five minutes and then BOOM! The glass bowl cracked and spilled water EVERYWHERE. I frantically cleaned the kitchen and cried when I had to explain why their nice bowl was broken. That's the day I learned the difference between serving bowls and Pyrex.

Disgusting:
When I was growing up, it was standard fare for my parents to not believe me when I told them I was feeling sick. One of these times, I told them repeatedly, and they made me sit down to dinner anyway. I got halfway through my dinner of roasted chicken, Rice-a-Roni and mixed vegetables before it all came right back up again... onto my dinner plate. My mom stood up and quickly tried to catch it with a towel while my dad chuckled and said, "It looks just like chicken pot pie!"
I like chicken pot pie, but he was right. And I've never been able to look at chicken pot pie the same way again. (I'll still eat it though. :D)


What Was Your Worst Childhood Food Experience?
8/1/12 1:40 PM

I'm a big fan of #3 - it's amazing how different instant ramen tastes when you add minced garlic, pine nuts, and some fresh parsley.


3 Ways Instant Ramen Noodles Can Become a Real Meal Cooking for One
7/18/12 10:14 AM

It really is amazing how versatile a crumble is!
I've used variations on this theme to empty the freezer of almost-unsuitable fruit for a couple of years now. Once, I started and realized we didn't have any flour! My crisp topping ended up a hodgepodge of almonds, pecans, Grape Nuts, oatmeal, brown sugar and butter and OH MAN was that worth it.
Knowing the recipe and being willing to tweak it is half the battle. Great post!


How To Make a Fruit Crumble with Any Kind of Fruit Cooking Lessons from The Kitchn
6/8/12 11:47 AM

I'll jump on the "Can we just quit it with pastel baby clothes?!" bandwagon.
Because SERIOUSLY. Have clothing manufacturers never had to try and clean exploded diaper from pink cotton flannel? It's next to impossible.
Unless they're in cahoots with the bleach industry.
Yep. That's got to be it.


Children's Design Clichés & Self-Fulfilling Prophesies
5/29/12 12:28 PM

Set up a QR code for this page and include it in your Mother's Day card. This is probably the best gift she'll get this year.


Turning Into My Mom, One Room at a Time
5/9/12 12:23 PM

The house I'm lusting over has an unpaved private alley, so this intrigues me! Though, like other commenters, I'm wondering how it'd hold up to the ice and snow we get here in Minnesota. Say what you will about unsightly asphalt driveways, they heat up and melt snow quite nicely during those winter months!


Green Your Driveway with Permeable Paving
4/30/12 4:26 PM

I have a set of 3 or 4 of these that I inherited from my grandmother's mid-century kitchen. They're copper - like #1 - but are more like #2 in style with a little image on it of what's inside. Ooh! that's right. Definitely four - flour, sugar, coffee and tea. <3


5 Canisters for Small Space Organizing
4/25/12 2:14 PM

I have a glass-topped coffee table that I mounted some tulle under and I stash all of my tickets in there. Looks great, or so I tell myself.


Creative Non-Cheesey Ticket Stub Display? Good Questions
4/23/12 3:55 PM

Speaking of Things That Have Been Hitting The Kool-Aid Hard:
Apartment Therapy.

How about some love for the rest of us that don't have the funds or the patience for Apple?


A Light Switch Only a "Mac" Could Love
4/23/12 3:51 PM

How is it a hazard?
Everyone knows it's foolish to shut oneself up in a wardrobe. Always leave the door open a crack.


Through the Wardrobe: Real-Life Narnia
4/5/12 3:38 PM

As a Midwesterner, Grand Central isn't something I readily have access to. My dad moved out to New York almost a year ago, and when I was there with my siblings in January, we visited Grand Central on a whim.
I actually started crying. I'm a sucker for old buildings and gorgeous architecture, and the beauty and steadfastness of Grand Central as the backdrop to the flow of people who never stop moving actually brought me to tears.
But of course... my camera was on the verge of battery death, and I didn't get a good picture.
Damn!
I guess I have to go back. :D


Grand Central Terminal's Celestial Ceiling Color Therapy
4/5/12 3:36 PM

The last time I tried to sleep on the wrong side of the bed, I was house sitting and almost rolled off.


Could You Be Sleeping on the Wrong Side of the Bed? Daily Mail
4/5/12 3:21 PM

This is a fantastic idea! I might have to print this out for my Girl Scout troop, if I can ever convince them how important the sewing badge is. :D


Ready-To-Stitch Alphabet Sampler Sublime Stitching
4/5/12 1:44 PM

My senior year of college was probably the last time I had a truly organized living situation. I had two roommates, and we had three main living spaces. So each week, we'd be in charge of keeping one area of the apartment clean. Since the living room was the easiest, the person on living room duty was also in charge of planning our little family dinner - that meant working with the schedules of three college seniors AND cooking something we'd all like! It was nice to be able to get together every week and have kind of a meeting of the minds as well as gorge on a huge meal.
I'm definitely going to try and start this up again with my housemates.


Enjoying a Renter's Life: Communal Dinners Renters Solutions
4/5/12 1:20 PM

Magic Piano on the iPad.
I played it last night for like an hour. The fact that there's games like that out there with free classical music to play with and expose people to is the perfect way to spend the future.
We didn't even have the TV on last night. It was kind of awesome.


What Technological Advancement Makes You Think, "This is the Future"?
4/4/12 4:36 PM

I love that everyone on here's just like "Why pay $90 when you can make them for maybe $30 and a couple hours of your time?"
Nicely done.


Where Can I Find Leopard Pillows? Good Questions
4/4/12 4:20 PM

My couch is in similar condition. It's got decent bones, but the "fluff" in the cushions is starting to go.
My plan, if I end up keeping it (it really is a comfy love seat) is to reupholster it with tea-stained canvas dropcloths.
You might be able to go on to craigslist and see if there's anyone who's trying to learn how to upholster, and see if they'll make you a slipcover. That way, if it's terrible, you're not out a couch!


Reupholster Sofas or Buy New?
Good Questions
3/15/12 11:56 AM

Oh man. Way to stick a knife in my heart, Sarah.
My great-grandparents' home recently went on the market after 60 years in our family.
It's the house where my sister and I had our first few Christmases, back when my dad's huge sprawling Irish family was young enough to fit in one place.
It's where we'd walk when my Grandma was my babysitter and it was nice out - we'd go visit my great-grandparents. Gram in her kitchen or in the living room, and Pappy quietly tying flies in the basement, listening to a baseball game on the radio.
After Pappy died and Gram couldn't move around the house any more, my uncle and his family moved in. This lead to a host of new memories like playing foosball in the basement with my cousins.
For a while, I had dreams of growing up and raising kids in that house, and having their first Christmases there, in front of that same fireplace where I had mine.

And now, after my uncle and aunt's divorce, the house went into foreclosure. It's been difficult. Really, truly difficult. I'd talked to my uncle about the possibility of renting the place out (to save it from foreclosure, keep it in the family and get me living in the house of my dreams), but it didn't work out. And now it sits, mostly empty, with a "For Sale" sign in the yard, and me in no position to buy a house. It'll be a cause of heartbreak until I know for sure there's nothing I can do about my dream house, and then I'll get my mind working on a new one.


Saying Farewell to a Home
3/14/12 3:04 PM

I'm loving all of the 7'ers down here. You're all amazing!
I live in a basement "apartment" (I have my own living room and bedroom down there) with 7' 3" ceilings. It was nice, because then I could paint the dark wood paneling with little assistance when I moved in. Now, I'm in the process of tearing out the hideous drop ceiling and replacing it with white foam board between the joists for sound insulation. The extra 8" between the joists makes the room look two feet taller. Can't wait to get it done!


Looking Up: 10 Tricks for Making Your Ceiling Look Higher
3/14/12 2:54 PM