L1bby's Profile

very sweet home. I love to see people's collections. Everything is so evocative and charming in your home. Lovely art too. Thank you.

haha! I agree with the crock pot complaints and when I encounter crock pot recipe instructions to "brown chicken" or "saute onions in olive oil" I have to admit, I totally ignore them and just dump the stuff in the pot as-is and turn it on. Everything turns out fine.
also, just this week I read a recipe in a magazine (Food and Wine) that began: "saute blah-blah-blah until transluscent in an enameled cast-iron 3 quart Dutch oven..."or some such jazz.
Umm....hey Food and Wine, is it okay if I just use a regular pot, I wonder?!
silly!

love your bookshelves and the black and white wallpaper in the kitchen. Nice place!

I can say with some certainty that I have--at one time or another--eaten just about every one of the above things for dinner! I had to laugh when I read the "box of cheezits" and "stove stop stuffings" posts--those are two of my favorites. I would like to add entire sleeve of saltine crackers, unadorned and un accompanied, to the list as well as bowl of macaroni noodles sauced with butter and Tabasco.

absolutely wonderful stuff!

I can relate. We have two rambunctious dogs and for a long time it was a real dilemma. We boarded the once or twice but didn't feel good about that-it's certainly not ideal. We had family look after them a few times and while we were appreciative, we never felt entirely comfortable with this either for various reasons. But we made friends with some kind neighbors who also have pets. And they have two young children. So now we just "book" with the neighbors in advance and swap favors. They house and dog-sit for us, we do the same for them, and I babysit here and there for them too, or pick up their kids from school occasionally. It works like a dream and we're really fortunate. I realize this isn't easy to set-up, but if you happen to have an animal loving neighbor--take over a batch of cookies or a bottle of wine and have a "business" meeting with them about pet-sitting and bartering. It might be the beginning of a very fortuitous relationship. Chances are there's a pet-owner in your neighborhood who needs a pet-sitter too. Good luck!

I love this post so I have to comment again! I agree jodyleepj--overly ripe cantaloup smells terrible.
I also love the smell of motor oil on a garage floor. Wouldn't want my house to smell like it, but I think I like it because it reminds me of my grandfather's workshop.
Once I bought an old mildewed suitcase from an antique store simply because I love the way it smells. Weird, I know.

I am a dog owner. I have no children of my own, but I do have a large extended family and lots of nieces and nephews, many of them toddlers--and I love for my family to visit my home, especially during the holidays. My dogs are generally well-behaved when it's just me and my husband, but they do get excited and rambunctious around guests, especially children. In my experience visiting others' homes, even the best-trained dog can be expected to exhibit dog behavior when there are guests in the house. For me it is simple. I don't entertain frequently and when I do, I put my dogs in another room until they calm down enough to interact with guests without being obtrusive. I can tolerate most any level of dog behavior when I am a guest in someone's home, but not everybody feels the same way about dogs. I just think when you invite people to your home, it's your responsibility to provide them with a comfortable experience, and for me that means keeping my pets out of the center of activity for at least the initial greeting/arrival period. I really don't see what the big deal is. If you don't feel comfortable putting your dogs up if they tend to annoy your guests, the most logical solution is to not invite guests over at all.

My husband insists it's the quilt, I'm torn between the quilt and the oil painting. Ok....the quilt.

Great day, where do I start?
-replacement for the peeling and chipped sheet laminate counter-tops.
-gas stove rather than electric.
-stove ventilation so I can actually cook in the summertime without raising the temperature and humidity inside the house. It's not a problem in the winter, but I live in the deep south. Lawd-a-mercy it can get hot and humid.
-some pull-out drawers in the lower cabinets so I can get to my stuff without stooping all the way to the floor and stressing my back.
Sounds like I live in squalor but it's otherwise pretty nice. And I'm working on righting the wrongs in the kitchen. A constant work in progress.