EngineerChic's Profile

I cleanmy blender but the plastic (lexan, whatever) carafe is cloudy looking. Any magic tips on restoring it to "sparkling clear newness"? I use it a lot for smoothies and I wish it was still pretty because it lives on my counter in clear view of everyone.

One other suggestion ... look for places that you can buy ground covers in bulk if you are going to be replacing some of the grass (or dandelion + moss). I used a place called Classy Groundcovers to buy enough Veronica to blanket our "Hell Strip" at one house (that's the strip between the sidewalk and the road). It worked great and the current owners still have it in place. Probably not right for your area, but that site sold ground covers in 24-packs and bare-root bundles for very competitive pricing.

Congrats on having a large size yard to work with, it was a top priority in our house hunt 3 yrs ago too and although each Fall has us sucking up leaves for hours ... I enjoy the view of our yard every day. It's the gift that keeps giving :)

As terrible as it is to be sick when you are a stay at home parent ... I would have traded places gladly last fall when I was incredibly sick while on a business trip. In mainland China. And I do not speak more than about 6 words of Mandarin.

This was not the first time I've been sick on the road, but it was the first time that I realized that my previous plan to "just get on the first plane to Singapore or Taiwan to get to English fluent healthcare" was unreasonable. I would have failed the airport fever scanners and I felt so incredibly lousy I couldn't imagine braving the airport anyways.

My point? Being sick is never fun, even if you can get yourself to a four star hotel in a major city (where you can't drink the water and ration the minibar contents). I do sometimes get a little tired of the mantra that "nothing is harder than X" whether that be home schooling, being a SAHM, being a SAHD, or being a war widow after WW2, or a road warrior while having the flu. Because as crappy as my situation was, I did HAVE a minibar!

Can we just get to the "coping strategies" and skip the dramatic intros comparing how the lives of other people (like the working spouse) are so much easier?

It's not even a real coctail ... But if you mix pineapple juice and Malibu coconut rum you sort of get a pina colada. Sort of. In a very distant way.

The other coctail I imbibed often in college was even more lame: The simple Vodka-Sprite Slammer. Now I stick with wine ... its easier.

Since that is a work table as well as an eating space, I would have been SO tempted to put large, lockable casters on the legs so I could move it around as needed. It might make it too much of a cliche, but still so tempting.

I love it, the only thing I miss is seeing the gorgeous trim around the window, but that's easy to address by moving the curtains a bit (as in - nudging them open, not moving any hardware).

It's kind of hard to find these art shows or art guilds. A friend and I recently started looking at art - to learn about it and start buying some things for ourselves. It seemed so logical to start with the local art colleges, because they must have galleries. It's been challenging to find out anything about them (hours, how many works or artists are typically on display, etc).

We have had somewhat better luck with independent framing shops who happen to have some local artists or limited print runs, and with some multi-artist co-ops.

Once we have figured this out for our area I will feel like I've solved the Da Vinci code.

Okay, so mine is really small compared to these ... But ... I have a kitchen that is really, really "out of style" in many ways. It is the hated golden oak and I see so much about people who are updating and tearing out their dated kitchens that even though I don't mind this one, I almost feel like I should hate it. Honestly, the layout works pretty well ...

But I feel like we moved I to the space in a rush 3 years ago and never really took a second look at how we use the space. For instance ... The drawer for silverware is placed EXACTLY where you naturally want to stand to prep anything. So if I am slicing something and DH needs a spoon, I am in the way. And vice versa.

We have frequently used stuff, like dog and cat food, in the corner lazy Susan that's kind of annoying to work with. Right next to that we have a cabinet with cereal and chips that are accessed once or twice a WEEK (pets eat 2x/day).

I feel like I need to re-orient the whole space ... I'm just not sure how to lay it out more intelligently (or less stupidly).

My first thought was that it looked like a very, very pale Mr. Hanky.

It is a GREAT update. I know some people hate painting over wood, but I'm guessing that due to the age of those cabinets it would have taken a full-on strip & refinish job to make them look fresh and clean. Being able to sand & paint is MUCH faster.

It looks so updated, and adding the corner cabinet underneath the orphaned wall cabs was smart. I love this kind of makeover - a reasonable budget that returns really great results.

ITA that a Make-A-Wish request is a request - not a society mandated obligation to comply. I'd rather see a celebrity decline than reluctantly say "yes" and sort of half-way engage with the wisher.

I have her new book on my Christmas list. I also like how relaxed and ... calm she seems in the kitchen. Though, I have mad love for my freezer and love to have meals stockpiled in there.