SchoolieJoolie's Profile

Alas, I have art to finish before I can enter. Can't be entering Small Cool with bare walls! :)

Next year for sure!

#2 scared me the most after my experiences in my last (built in 1928) apartment, but thankfully my new one had the electrical and plumbing brought up to modern code before I moved in.

My best rental ever is the one I moved into last Saturday. Landlord is hands-on, but in the best way possible. His car gets broken into and the keys to a couple of his buildings get stolen in the process? He and his crack handyman were out here at 9pm last night re-keying our locks.

We live in the East Village in Long Beach, in a building that's JUST been renovated. 2 bed, one bath. The kitchen is open to the living room. The building is from the 20's, but has brand-new electrical, plumbing, etc. Gorgeous original hardwood floors and mouldings. Pretty much everything else is brand new. The stainless appliances and in-unit washer and dryer were virgin. Bathroom was almost a gut reno, and while it's small, it's totally functional thanks to a built-in that was spared during the remodel.

Rent is $1450 a month, no parking. BUT... I found a lot very nearby to rent a space. We hope to be here a good long time.

A question for the author - how on earth do you break down a butternut squash with the knives you have? I ask because I find it a bit dangerous doing that task with anything BUT a 10" chef's knife.

I'm using Kerrygold for most of my baking, with the exception of a couple batches of shortbread that I'm going to make with some butter I got at Lazy Acres, unsalted, pastured and organic. It's damn spendy, but the butter really stands out in shortbread.

I'm doing homemade vanilla sugar this year. Cheap, easy, and versatile.

I hate to break it to everyone, but this isn't a recent development. People have pretty much always been sh!tty about responding, s'il vous plaît.

Pier1. Why has no one mentioned Pier1?

I got a service for 8 when I got married 8 years ago, and I've used and abused them ever since. Not one piece has broken.

Plus, the stuff is almost always on sale.

http://www.pier1.com/Luminous-Porcelain-Dinnerware/PS75,default,pd.html?cgid=dinnerware

I am with Bubb. I play guitar (electric and acoustic), and I live in an upstairs apartment. I bought a 2 watt tube amp head and a single 10" speaker to play through. I play a little quieter than I'd like, but the downstairs neighbors are cool with what I've done.

In fact, they prefer that I play the electric. The acoustic is a Martin dreadnought, and those things are loud and there's really nothing I can do about it.

I have an 80+ year old cast iron pan I inherited from my grandma. As far as I know, no soap has ever touched it. I use whatever veg oil is in the house and table salt, and a paper towel or 2, to keep it clean. After cleaning, pour in a very small amount of oil, and using one more paper towel, rub the oil to a very light film.

It gets used all the time, and I reseason it every six months or so using crisco. Apply a very light film of it, and put it on the upper rack of your oven, upside down over a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake it at 350 or so for an hour. Good as new.