happysparkle's Profile

Robert chef - well said. I couldn't agree more.

This has been my stand-by sauce for years now. It's absolutely amazing and simple, and perfect for my husband, who likes the flavor of onions but hates the bits. Not strong and sweet and sticky, but bursting with gorgeous bright tomatoey flavor and just a hint of creaminess. Sometimes I throw some torn basil and/or shaved parmigiano on top, sometimes I just ladle some over a plate of meatballs (no pasta needed!), sometimes I add pepper or a pinch of dried chili flakes... but always, at the heart, it comes down to these four ingredients. Perfection.

I've quite had a few slow cookers over the years, all different brands and price ranges with all sorts of features, and I've found that it really doesn't matter much in the end. Right now I have an inexpensive 6qt Morphy Richards one that I got on Amazon for around 30 quid, and it does the job creditably. I used to have a dirt cheap 4qt thing that I picked up at WalMart for $12, and later a nicer hand-me-down 6qt Crock Pot before I moved overseas. The only thing that ever mattered to me was the size, and that it had a removable crock (those one-piece things are awful!). You can cook a smaller dish in a larger cooker, but you can't cook a larger dish in a smaller cooker. Go for the biggest every time.

Getting ready to redo my living room, and we're going with the solid neutrals approach for the furniture - entirely monochrome (even the grey flooring) with splashes of bold color. Yellow and turquoise pillows, bold (and sometimes neon) art, and my colorful collection of vintage clocks. Heaven on Earth for me.

I made this a while ago and it was absolutely sublime; on a rainy day like today, I think I need to make it again!

I've always done mine with a knife and board (and had to scrape up everything that sticks) up until about a year ago; then my mother-in-law gave me something she'd been given and had no use for, and it was an epiphany. It was a pair of herb shears, which is basically a pair of scissors with 5 sets of blades (picture: http://www.geardiary.com/2009/06/12/the-useful-things-herb-scissors-review/). I'm not one for gimmicky-looking things like that, but these have really been amazing. They cut so neatly and quickly, and I can do a big bunch of parsley or a big sprig of rosemary in seconds. I have a large herb garden, and freeze my surplus to use all winter and spring, so I hardly ever have to use dried herbs (except for the ones that don't grow well where I live). These things have been a godsend.

I'm amazed by some of these comments. I moved to the Netherlands five years ago, and I was shocked by the cost of paint when we bought our house - but it sounds like we get much better paint than you guys back home. I just repainted the living room, which we originally did in a deep shade of burnt red (what a mistake), and the white I bought (about 40 euros/5L, which I thought was horrifying) covered it in just two coats with a transparent primer. Colors get expensive, but again, they cover well, even the hardware store's brand. Sounds like we're at least getting what we pay for. Suddenly I don't feel so ill about it!

I live in the Netherlands now, and it took me some time after moving here (from the US) to get used to the idea of keeping the eggs out on the counter. I've been doing it for over four years now, though, and never been sick, whether using them cooked or raw (I make a breakfast smoothie of two fresh eggs, a bunch of frozen fruit, and coconut milk every morning, and that thing powers me through until well past lunchtime each day). I've even used them a few days past their date before in a pinch and suffered no ill effects (and neither have the kids, who are also crazy about mommy's breakfast smoothies).

Eww about the power washing thing, though - I never knew.

Looks like a Karlstad to me, but not 100% sure.

I love Ikea! Where else can you get great inspiration, free babysitting for the kids, and a free cup of coffee all at the same time? The stuff in my house that DIDN'T come from Ikea is outnumbered by the stuff that did. Even the kids' markers are Ikea...

My top design 'allergies':

Red. It's over. Move on.

Those 'collage' frames that have one giant mat with a zillion holes cut in it. Ikea has a really offensive one where all the holes are lined up and spaced out evenly. Please, PLEASE take the time to give each picture its own frame and hang them separately.

Thomas effing Kincade, whether it 'means something' to the owner or not.

Cheesy posed studio portraits, especially with more than one person in them. More allergy points if they're in color; then everyone's clothes are either clashing (bad) or matching (AWFUL).

Collectible porcelain stuff. Lladro, Precious Moments, all that crap Lennox makes, Hummels... you get the idea.

Anything pink (moreso if it's fluffy, or something like a toolbox that just shouldn't BE pink). I have two little girls, and I have the decency to keep their pink crap out of the common areas. I wish others would do the same.

TVs too big for the viewing space. The ideal distance from TV to couch is supposedly 3.5 times the diagonal screen length. This formula works pretty well in real life. Keep it in mind when buying your next TV.

Wall-mounted TVs. I don't care if it saves space. If you don't live in a hospital or a bar, there's no excuse.

Buddha art. No matter how hard it tries to look mystical and Asian and mysteriously cool, it is never able to cover up the fact that its owners are always A) non-Asians, B) non-Buddhists, and C) not cool, but trying really hard.

Now mind you, most of my family and friends are guilty of at least two of these offenses (though none own anything Kincade - me being an artist, that would be a dealbreaker). I adore them anyway, and treasure the time I spend with them in their homes. I just try really hard to get them to come to mine instead =)

This is a really nice idea for my end-of-season herb surplus. Mint, rosemary, thyme and lemon thyme, and lemon balm are things I always have too much of.