vmorgs's Profile

I would go with the Ikea Square Hemnes Coffee Table. If you want to match the color of your existing one, get it in Gray-Brown, otherwise get it in Black Brown. That's our current coffee table and we LOVE it! Just the right size for our space.

I would make a handful of appetizers from each candidate's home State. Obama is Illinois and Romney is Mass. So for Obama you could do some Chicago favorites like mini Italian beef sandwiches with hot giardiniera on the side, some Chicago Mix Popcorn or you could do mini Chicago style hot dogs. For Romney you could do New England Clam Chowder shooters, mini Lobster Rolls or something along those lines. If you wanted to include ALL the candidates, Gary Johnson from New Mexico is running as a Libertarian and you easily do some Southwest/Tex-Mex apps for him.

I agree...great tips. I have a room I am in the middle of renovating w/ a VERY low ceiling and some of these will definitely help. I am wondering though if Chair Rail would help or hurt in terms of making the ceiling look higher...assuming you paint the bottom half a very light color. Thoughts?

Hi! This is VA (the OP) here! Thanks for all of your awesome suggestions!!

When we renovated our living room a few years ago...we did what most of you are suggesting: hardwood floors (we did bamboo), area rug (we used FLOR) and microfiber sofa (ours is off white). The floors are a breeze to clean and our Dyson takes care of the area rugs and couch. For our Family Room though, I really want carpet. Mostly because it's cheaper than hardwood and when we have kids it will be softer/safer for them. As for the couch, I never considered leather but again...I'm worried it will be expensive, especially since my husband is insisting we get a sectional. But maybe that's an expense we'll have to live with thanks to our adorable shedding dog. =)

Oh and katethemonty, we had Chewbacca DNA tested and she's a Sharcockerman Labrachowzerhound. That means she's part Shar Pei, part Cocker Spaniel, part Domerman, part Lab, part Chow, part Schnauzer and part Greyhoud. =)

I make pizza dough just about every week and here's my two cents...

1. Your dough could be *too* sticky. Try adding more flour during the kneading process BEFORE you get to the rolling out process.

2. Use a non-stick rolling pin. My rolling pin has a nice non-stick coating on it and nothing ever sticks to it...I love it!

@PleinJane I don't feel alone anymore!! Someone else has a suit of armor too! Mine came from a liquor store's display window though...not a movie set!

There are two things in my home that I would classify as "weird". The first is a holdover from my husband's bachelor days and is a full suit of armor. It stands about 7 feet tall and is named "Sir Drinks-a-Lot". It's currently living in our laundry/storage room for now, but I'm sure once we finish rennovating our Family Room my husband will want to move it in there!

The second is in our laundry/storage room and it's a giant "mural" of the Swiss Alps. I use the term "mural" loosely because it's really just giant blocks of wallpaper that when pieced together, make a "mural" of the Swiss Alps. It came with the house and, as of now, we have no intention of removing it. It's not a room seen by guests, and we love that we can tell people we have a mural room!

Here's a quick an easy 5 ingredient dessert you can make w/ the jam:

Ingredients

Ligonberry Jam
Canned Sheet of "Crescent Roll" Dough
Container of cream cheese
1 Egg
Raw Sugar

Directions

Roll our canned dough and cut into 4 equal squares. In the center of each square place 1 TBSP jam and 2-3 TBSP cream cheese. Fold up the corners of each square into the center. and pinch the "seams" together.

Crack the egg into a small bowl/mug and beat until well mixed. Using a pastry brush, brush top of each "pastry" with egg. Then, sprinkle each with a little raw sugar.

Bake according to directions on the can of dough and enjoy!

I've always wanted to cook w/ anchovies, but never really knew how. Do I pop the little guys into a blender and make a "paste"? Do I "prepare" them like a tiny fish and use the mini "filets" in my sauces, soups, stews etc? Are there bones? Eyes? Brains? What do I eat or not eat? Or do I eat the whole thing? Help!

@Emily G Flip your mixer over and you'll notice a screw way up inside. Tighten that and you're good to go. If you notice the wobble mid-use, like I occasionally do, whack the pin back into place with a meat tenderizer and tighten the screw when you're done using the mixer.