chicgeek's Profile

I did this with old desk drawers on my tiny apartment balcony - the mess after only a season is atrocious. The bottoms rotted out, it left black stains on the deck and the plants in the drawers seemed to get a lot more bugs than my salvaged plastic planters. Fortunately I could sand the damage out. Props for the reuse - but be careful!

How cool are these! So festive

Oh these are gorgeous! I've been collecting all my family's copper for my first house, but it's mostly decorative. I'm still using pots from my first dorm set (embarrassed)... I could use an upgrade!

1. (Almost) Everything must be easily accessible.

2. Everything must be easily swapped. If it can break it must be replaced without chopping apart cabinets.

3. Everything must be easy to clean.

I expect the most common mistake is not understanding how you use your kitchen. It's easy to get swept up in beautiful pictures and model layouts without realizing how impractical it is. Are there outlets or light switches convenient? When you take something off the stove or out of the fridge it needs a landing spot near by. Where do the dishes go before they get washed? If you have two people in the kitchen, can they function? How does the food get to the diners? Are the cabinets tall enough to hold a box of cereal?! Can my stock pot fit in the sink under the faucet? Can my stock pot fit on the range under that really low-hung microwave? (Honest issues with my kitchen. I'm slowly fixing them!)

I think the point is that these are generic host/hostess gifts. It specifically says "host or hostess you aren't especially familiar with." And as the host/hostess, you should be gracious with whatever gift you receive - and take note of the giver so you don't accidentally regift it to them. It is very difficult to shop for someone you barely know when you plan on occupying their home.

Wine and sweets/treats can be opened and enjoyed at the party, even if the host/hostess doesn't care for them. In fact, the gifter will probably feel very good to see it being used.

Other generics (soft socks, movie passes, stationary) can be regifted if the recipient doesn't care for them (I literally have a gift bag of fuzzy socks and spa stuff I regift to my friends and sisters that actually love them.)

I would avoid giftcards and ornaments. It's a little awkward to know a stranger spent $X dollars, and all my ornaments are very personal.

I would like to add scented candles - they look very nice in a little basket with some tissue paper. Again - very regiftable.

Plants/flowers are lovely. I especially like to give cuttings of my Christmas cactus in pretty pots. It's kill-proof and so beautiful in bloom!

Be careful with the handmades - the idea is lovely, but the execution should either be very personal (if you know the person well) or very generic so it doesn't end up in the garage sale bin (eg the artisan soaps are a cute idea). For goodness sake, I don't need another scarf - and what the heck do I do with a knitted toilet paper coozy?!

I think this is a great list - the title is maybe misleading. Really, it's too bad not everyone actually read the intent....

I like to mat prints using the cardboard "frames" or matting from JoAnns or Michaels or even WalMart - they're pretty inexpensive and have really great colors - some of them are pretty fancy! I start by pushing 2 brads (those brass things kids use for joints in their school projects) through the matting on either side, fold the tabs flat and tape them down so the head of the brads face the wall, and the tabs will be under the print or photo. Then I paste the print over the tabs. On the back I run a string between the brads nice and tight. That way I can hang them on the wall and adjust them so they hang straight! It's cheap and really effective.

Uh... Personally I think this is a far better execution of this concept:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Invisible-Book-Shelf/

Mauishopgirl Yeah it is! They are my favourite grocery store. I love their seminars, and anything packaged in-store can be re-packaged to exactly how much you want so it isn't wasted. (Plus sampling is encouraged... I love that!)
You can use 1 manufacturer coupon and 1 Whole Foods coupon on each product, just like most stores. I get really great deals on stuff I always use.

@ Illuminatedpst - right on! No more cardboard generic-brand cheerios for me!

I love dark wood, but my style is very clean and modern... this is such a good combination! And that skylight.... Gorgeous!

-Modern new hardware.
-Take a couple doors right off to display pretty dishes or replace them with matching wood-framed glass doors if you're into DIY.

-It looks like the backsplash is wallpaper? A paint job would brighten that up.

-Those cabinets are made for some nice bright LED undercabinet lighting. DIY = inexpensive

-The retro floor is what would bring me down. A sturdy linoleum-knockoff in modern and dirt-camoflaging pattern will breathe new life into those cabinets.