jgphotomom's Profile

It sounds like a Seinfeld episode; I hope it goes well for all involved.

Besides all of the other great suggestions that other people have provided here, perhaps you could make a specific invitation for an affordable restaurant night with them - get them on neutral ground, so to speak.

Besides herbs, you can try growing edible flower plants, like nasturtiums or pansies. They really stun people when you decorate a salad or cake with them. Just make sure you keep your plants organic.

When you have an odd amount of foil at the end of a roll, save these to make all sorts of nifty helpers in a kitchen. Some ideas includes rolling some into a strip to use to truss chicken or turkey (if you have a longer piece) - which I have done. I have also used foil to tent over meat or pies/pie crusts during cooking. Also I have crinkled and then partially unrolled heavy dury scraps to use as a draining rack for fries foods.

Like others, I have a similar problem (kitchen vs. rest of house in hardwood). Do yourself a favor and keep the original wood. Use the clever ideas that others have suggested here.

Just a note of caution to those buying vintage sets of plates - older sets of ceramics may have lead in the glaze. Might be a good idea to get a lead testing kit to check if your set is okay...

The Pottery Barn lamps are only for the base; you must purchase the lamp shade separately. Also, many of their lamps are catalog/internet only - you must pay for shipping.

California Pizza Kitchen used to do an excellent version of Potato Leek Soup. I used to have a recipe for it (from online) and it required some thyme and even some soy sauce to give it a savory depth.

You know, make it a theme wedding - High school prom! You can send out cute invites with this theme and decorate the place with streamers, balloon and flowers (purple, if the fiance insists). Go with the decor, instead of fighting it. Also, like the many wise people who have already posted, remember the happy part of this day is your marriage, and the party is just the frosting on top.

I confess, my family regularly goes to Black Friday sales! Why? Every one of you state excellent reasons for not going, but for us (sisters, sister-in-law and cousin-in-law), it is a time to hang out, coordinate shopping and just have fun. We compare shopping lists, receive tips from other people in line, help each other find the items we need and give out opinions on colors and sizes. About 10:00 a.m. we go to a great diner nearby and have a terrific breakfast and talk about our holiday plans.

Early morning Black Friday is perfect for us, because all of our other obligations (read: family) are sleeping off the previous day's festivities and won't need us for hours. To enjoy Black Friday, you have to really have your own reasons for going out, beyond a few sales items.

While the clock statement is not grammatically correct, I think many of you are wise enough to know that it was meant to convey the sense of casualness and resignation a person would feel with themselves. It is not a perfect world (especially if you are the type of person who is usually late) and the grammatical error was probably meant to emphasize that...

Of course, if you can't see the irony in it, then it is obviously not the clock for you.