Stiletto's Profile

I always oil the measuring cup first - unless the recipe also calls for oil, in which case I measure the oil first.

By the way, if I don't have cooking spray on hand, I never need to use paper towels for greasing. I use a barbecue basting brush with silicone bristles - it's easy to use, doesn't leave whiskers in my food, and is easy to wash.

For about 10 years now, I have done most of my shopping at little independent natural foods stores, and I've noticed they tend to attract a much more civil and polite class of clientele. I've NEVER encountered slow check writers or screaming children - not even once.

The one and only problem? Aisle blockers. Small stores often have extremely narrow aisles, and sometimes it's just not possible to simply say "excuse me" and grab the item I need while someone else takes 10 minutes hemming and hawing over whether to put something in their basket.

That said, my relatively good experiences may have something to do with the fact that I live in clean-scrubbed, behave-or-else suburbia. My friends in LA and SF have recently complained about people putting their grimy hands in the bulk bins...

I had HORRIBLE luck with clock-radios, including the Dream Machine! All of them broke anywhere from a few months to a couple of years after I got them.

Hardwood, hardwood, hardwood. I had several relatives who owned and ran a family carpet cleaning business together...all of their homes had hardwood floors because carpet is a filth magnet.

It's unhealthy, too. I have asthma and the ONE time in my life when I could breathe easily at night was when I stayed in a friend's carpet-free guest room for two weeks.

I'm a chronic insomniac with asthma. My next apartment MUST have:

-Neighbors who are QUIET between midnight and 6am
-NO CARPET! I will never live with carpet again, it's a dust magnet and makes my wheezing a lot worse. I would rather live with old, sticky plastic flooring than carpet.
-No neighbors who smoke. This might require me to move into the dead center of a larger complex with a no-smoking policy...fine. Whatever keeps the smoke away. (I use a smoke-filtering air purifier inside, but I need to be able to breathe while I walk to my car, too.)

Oh, and I've learned the hard way not to pick a new neighborhood in the dead of winter when you live along the SoCal coast. From now on, I'm going to scout apartments on summer weekends so I know which areas are most flooded with tourists.

Anyone know a good service that can rip VHS tapes to digital format? I'm still hanging onto a few tapes (i.e. short films I made in high school) even though I haven't owned a VCR in a while...

Retrocatz is right about cardboard attracting roaches, and it's also a silverfish magnet, ick! I only keep packaging until the warranty expires (or until my cat finds the box and rips it to shreds). In my case, it helps that I don't own a lot of electronics or appliances anyway, and on the rare occasion I buy them, I buy the best quality I can afford so I won't have to replace them for a VERY long time. I don't think I even HAVE any product packaging left.

Salvage yard, yes...but don't forget auto junkyards, flea markets, or asking the neighborhood car fanatic to save one for you. Many of them buy two of the same vehicle - one to restore, and one (often in worse condition) for harvesting parts - so they just might have a spare mirror (or two).

1. Purge stuff from relationship. A really DEEP purge is best - remove their stuff, things they gave you, things that remind you of them, etc. Get in all your drawers and closets and go through ALL the stuff in your space. (Purging other stuff you no longer need or want at the same time isn't a bad idea either.)

2. Deep-clean entire space.

3. Update the decorating. This doesn't have to cost a lot - even rearranging furniture and taking down pictures of your ex will make a difference.

4. If you're not up to throwing a party, at least cook yourself a meal with foods you like but your ex doesn't, then watch a movie or TV show your ex didn't like either. I swear it helps.

5. Looking better helps some people (me!) feel better. Get your hair trimmed, get a new outfit, and go do something fun!

No. BUT...I'm used to cooking from scratch anyway, and I've never hosted more than 4 people for Thanksgiving. If I had to cook for a big crowd, I'd probably cut a few corners.