Ginevra123's Profile

I made a recipe for a squash bisque that called for 2 tablespoons or so of arborio rice tossed in to give it creaminess. Since then it's become my go-to trick for all puree soups.

I don't know...I'm kind of with those earlier posters. If my neighbors politely wrote me a nice note or knocked on my door, I'd be more than happy to put down some rugs etc. But I'm not so inclined to go out of my way to accommodate someone who resorts to angry, passive-aggressive notes.

When we bought our house, the inspector insinuated that the ductless range hood was pretty pointless. But because our stove was positioned against an outside wall rather than an interior wall, we didn't need to add ducts, just vent it outside. It was a much more cost-effective solution when we remodeled the kitchen.

So awesome!
My house was built in 1921 and when we bought it my husband used a combination of state land records databases and a family member's subscription to ancestry.com to find out about the original family. It turns out one of the children from that family is still alive and living in a nursing home. We wrote him a letter and he wrote back several times and sent us photos. It is really fascinating.
There are services you can pay for to have someone track down the history like this for you -- here in the DC area there is one company but I think they charge $800-$1000! All you really need to do is look through the public databases your state runs on property/deed/land records history and run the names through ancestry.com.

My tiny front yard is currently a sea of mulch (not red, mind you) with some baby shrubs and slow-growing native groundcover spotted throughout. What can I say. It was a patch of weeds and poison ivy before and I had to start from scratch. Too shady to plant grass. Would have had to wait till the fall anyway. Sorry if my garden offends you!

I can get on board with the red mulch and plastic flowers, but some of these just get a giant WTF from me. Just be glad that people are planting flowers. Who cares if they "match?!"

I have an Ikea microwave (Framtid, http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/50142337/#/30142338) and dishwasher (the cheapest one, whichever that was). I like that the microwave doubles as an extractor fan and it seems pretty effective in that regard -- no grease on the dishes in my open-shelving layout. It fit right in with the cabinets without any problem and looks quite nice. I don't like that the microwave itself is not very powerful compared to my lower-wattage previous microwave and does not have a timer function.
The dishwasher was $200 so you can't really expect much for that price. It gets my dishes clean just fine, but is very, very loud. Luckily my kitchen has a door, but I wouldn't recommend it if your kitchen opens up to any living space.

Agree with the others -- why on earth would you want to "deal with" parquet flooring? You should embrace their vintage and craftsman quality and choose decor that complements, not hides, them.
And yeah -- this is your FIRST APARTMENT. You're still in college. It takes years and years to have the beautiful homes that are showcased here on AT. Start by developing your style and likes and dislikes and collect things you like when you see them.

If you have moisture damaging your home it is probably the result of improper drainage/grading that is leading to water draining into your home rather than away from it. As a previous commenter mentioned, you may need to hire a contractor to take a look and possibly install a french drain or other mechanism for diverting stormwater. Plants are actually often the solution, not the problem, because they absorb water that runs off from your roof or from a higher grade in your yard and slow down the flow of water during storms. Other stormwater techniques such as rain gardens sited AWAY from your foundation, rain barrels attached to your gutters, etc, can also help.

Before you plant anything, have someone examine and address your moisture problem. Then plant whatever you want there so long as it works for your climate and the amount of sun you get.

I read that article yesterday and it annoyed me. The evidence he cites are recipes which say things like "cook for 5-10 minutes until a golden color." No, onions will not caramelize in that amount of time, but they will turn golden, so why is that wrong?

That being said, there are a lot of bad, inaccurate recipes out there. It drives me crazy too!

I am also in the midatlantic (MD) and I have had luck with clematis and black eyed susan vine. Hard to tell from your photo, though, how much sunlight you get in that particular spot. The vines will grow but may not flower if there is not full sun.