pamh's Profile

Baked apples. Great as they are or with yogurt for brekky, with ice cream and cookies for dessert. Bake up a whole tray of them. They seem to keep for ever. And here's how to core them in about 4 seconds: http://howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com/2013/03/ballers-how-to-core-apples.html

pam h
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

This is my go-to from the freezer-and-pantry dinner. It requires only fresh garlic and lime...I make it about once a week. Endlessly variable as well ...add green, cubed potatoes, sweet potatoes, serve in a tortilla, as a side to eggs for a twist on rancheros...
http://howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-to-make-dinner-tonight-in-less-than.html

This an linguini with (canned) clams saves my bacon (which can use bacon if you like. Make sure you put an anchovy in the oil along with the garlic and mash it up well, and add hot red chili flakes to the oil too. Then the clams with their juice, a glug of white wine if you have it, and toss with cooked pasta. Easy, cheap, super delicious.

oh and dont forget lighting. Lighting can get weirdly expensive.
pam
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

Super piece of cake. Just take your time, have good scissors, a hot glue gun, spray glue (for mounting things... get it at an art supply store) and a really good staple gun with long staples. Get some batting, cut it to fit the seat and chair back.

Spray both with spray glue. Afix the batting to the chair.

Cut a piece of fabric to cover completely the chair or back. Better that it is too big than too small. Methodically staple using this method: staple on diagonal corners first, so the fabric is taught. If you have a square, staple corner A first, then corner C, then corner b, then corner D, pulling the fabric tight. Then staple exactly in between A/B, B/C/ C/D/ D/A. Then start putting in staples equidistant from those staples, gradually halving the spaces in between. makes sense? This will give you an even finished product with regularly spaced staples. Hide the staples with a little grosgrain ribbon cut to fit and hot glued on, or get hem tape or similar from the sewing store. Mostly, just take your time.
pam
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

Vintage and modern play well together. Modern is sleek and clean and doens't impose itself on other stuff if you don't let it. it's like a little black dress.

I'd love to see what you mean personally by "vintage' style -- are you talking 40's 50's, or 20's industrial? Or something more Victorian?

Going on what I call vintage:
First, find yourself a nice aged, not expensive kilim or oriental rug. The more frayed the better. You gotta rough up the edges of all that clean furniture. The bigger the better. Where you interact with surfaces -- the floor especially -- can really set a tone.

How you style the Expedits will matter -- this is where to put cool stuff you own that you consider vintage (again, I don't know what your style is...) don't clutter these up -- one object per square. Or go the opposite direction -- jam them with all books, or all albums. Make the insides uniform... the modern envelop of the book case will disappear.

Get yourself a round table of some sort, cover it in a burlap or rough linen table cloth. Put a lamp on the table. make both generous in size -- nestle it up next to the couch as a side table. Find pillows that work with the colors of the rug. Get great, generous linen drapes that you hang near the ceiling. Make your coffee table something tiger stripe oak and round and beat up -- there are lots of those available at flea markets and yard sales. If it's really beat up, paint it. (i'm still wondering about style.. are you talking shabby chic?) . Treat the Poang chair to a new slipcover http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/slipcovers-for-ikea-poang-chai-94490

and post links to picture of rooms you like, and I'll suggest picks for you over on my blog howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com. I live for this stuff

pam h in dc
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

2 additional tips:
1. get the standard prepaid package at the post office and pack it tight. it only costs $8 to send, and it doesn't matter about the weight.
2. It's not food but I have sent a fair number of care packages, and the very best thing you can send? complete seasons of high-quality television on dvd. When these guys *(and women) aren't out potentially getting blown up, they are bored bored bored and they love long, engaging entertainment. They will share the sets with others, and watch it all together, and it gives them something fresh to talk about. I sent one random soldier Veronica Mars season 1. He and his squad watched the entire season in about 2 days, then emailed me asking me to send the next 2 seasons. They called it "crack."
3-- added tip. DONT send them scifi/fantasy books (there are so many there now) and don't send them romance novels (that's all anyone sends women.) Send good books, and send the latest issues of fan magazines. I've spent a little time over there, and they are all absolutely hungry for the stupid stuff -- I had a gang gathered around me as I recounted Britney Spear's head shaving break down. They hung on every word. Surfing mags, motorcycle mags,men's mags (especially with hot women on the cover), Us Weekly. They eat it up. It's the exact opposite of their daily lives. Include a handwritten note too explaining who you are and why you included each thing. Provide your email and you will durely get a note of thanks.
pam
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

I've traveled. I've had to pack for 9 week stints in war zones with body armor (it gets its own bag and weighs 40 lbs. Hideous). 10 country tours for work involving weird Saudi princes who wanted to buy me with 3 camels (really). The best way to do this is lists.
Make a simple chart that shows every day you will be on the road. Divide chart into categories:
clothes (to include accessories and undies)
equipment (computer, power cords, thumb drives, pens, notebooks whatever)
documents (tickets, passports, directions)
hygiene: bandaids, meds, tampons, shampoo etc.
travel_ shizz for the plane ride. Books, Kindle, chewing gum, magazines, eye cover, socks.
Go through each day: what will you be wearing, when? Will you be exercising? what will you need to do your work (or go to wedding... gift? gift wrap?). Think through each day from the time you wake up to when you go to sleep. Write it on your chart. Do this simply sitting on your couch or at your desk. Think about it calmly. Don't pack a single thing until the list is completely filled out. No piles, no mess, and nothing will be forgotten.
The night before, pack it all up methodically going off the list. Pack the list last. When you come home, you can repack according to the list and you won't leave anything behind. More about this on my blog.
pam h in dc
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

Hey Millie -- I don't think having the flooring be different in different rooms is a big problem. I'd be careful about the tile -- unless you live in a tropical climate (Florida, Texas, even LA) tile throughout the house might seem odd. If you are considering selling your place anytime in the next 10 years, consider wood floors. People love wood floors, people love saying "hardwood floors" and people (buyers) sort of expect it.
If you do tile (and I am the daughter of the Tile King of Florida, so I know of what I speak) put a LOT of thought into the tile you choose. It's expensive, hard to change, and can easily look dated. Go for something neutral and time tested for maximum utility. I think the green tile you have in the photo is way to small and busy and while super cool this year, could look as bad as 70s avocado tiles look now (or did before they came back in style). Then you have the question: do you do a sandy or brown based floor tile, which hides dirt but limits the future color palette (ie you can't do a kelly green couch with a sand color floor... you'll need white for that to look kicky and fun).
I'd also choose a larger tile over a smaller tile -- ie at least 12 inches. Smaller tiles in small places (with the exception of really deliberate mosaics or penny tiles) can make a place look even smaller by making it feel like a dollhouse. Small tiles also introduce a lot of grout lines which can be very busy to look at.
That said: there's little I like better than a classic and quirky Victorian penny tile floor in a kitchen and laundry -- http://buckboardhill.typepad.com/.a/6a0147e110139e970b014e8ac6e154970d-pi
definitely use tile in the laundry room, and think about it for the kitchen. A cheap overall answer would be to rip out all the nasty carpet and install sisal (i'm still not sick of it and it's a great neutral) in all but the kitchen and laundry and bath. Area rugs will add color and can be cleaned and changed. (And doing this would be way cheaper than tiling the whole place. You can always rip out the sisal and tile in 5 years if you decide that's what you want to do) . I also love wood floors painted -- and you can do this cheaply by installing plywood rather than floorboards, then painting the shizz out of it -- white? Black? Grey? it can read either super rustic, super New England, or really hip and cool depending on the gloss and color.
pam h in dc
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

I'd like to know what you mean by modern -- sleek industrial? all white minimalist?
The wood cabinets are really calling the shots here, and my general feeling is unless you are going to invest a lot of money, it's better to work with what you've got than to try to fight it and make it be something it's not (that's my general stance against faux finishes.

What this is... I guess transitional modern?

The suggestion above about clearing everything off the counter is a good one. Get rid of the striped dish towel -- it reads country or cottage to me -- and get plain white, lots of them, and be really disciplined about not letting colored linens in y our kitchen. Change the pendant light - perhaps to this from West Elm, which I think is a nice mix of modern/industrial and traditional
http://www.westelm.com/products/glass-jar-pendants-w649/?pkey=cchandeliers-pendant-lighting
The baker's rack, while technically industrial, reads a little country/traditional again -- open shelving unless handled VERY minimally tends to look like that. Consider a different manner of display -- something sleeker:
2 of these http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/80163781/#/20163779
or 1 or 2 of these:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20116274/#/70116276

Definitely change the hardware -- perhaps to plain silver bars, no details: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90138833/
pam h in dc
howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com

I have worked out a method for cleaning my velvet Chesterfield of cat hair. It's a cracker.
http://howtorunyourlife.blogspot.com/2012/09/how-to-get-cat-hair-off-your-velvet.html
pam h in dc